One day, I was scrolling on TikTok and there was a video saying: “Record your eyes as you are thinking about nothing and then compare it to when you’re thinking about someone you love.” (Something along those lines). It turns out, your pupils dilate but in class, we learned that pupil dilation may be caused by stress responses.
Dilation of the pupils are triggered by the autonomic sympathetic nervous system, our “fight-or-flight” response. Does that mean our loved one stresses us out? Possibly. It depends on the neurotransmitters.
It’s quite interesting since the sympathetic nervous system releases norepinephrine/epinephrine in response to stress and activation of the “fight-or-flight.” Acetylcholine is activated in the stress response which may cause the release of norepinephrine/epinephrine but when you are looking at someone that you love, dopamine, one of the “feel good hormones" are released. Dopamine can be later converted to norepinephrine by dopamine beta-hydroxylase and cause the sympathetic response in pupil dilation. What about oxytocin? It’s released when you see someone that you love, as well. As for oxytocin, it enhances pupil dilation and social cues.
So if you really want to start an argument with your loved one, you can tell them that they trigger your stress response and that you release acetylcholine when you see them.
If you want to be a scientific romantic, you can tell them that every time you see them, they make you feel good with the dopamine and oxytocin release every time you see them.
Because both responses cause pupil dilation… Why do you think that the mechanism is created that way?
Leknes, S., Wessberg, J., Ellingsen, D. M., Chelnokova, O., Olausson, H., & Laeng, B. (2013). Oxytocin enhances pupil dilation and sensitivity to 'hidden' emotional expressions. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 8(7), 741–749. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nss062
https://whyy.org/segments/how-tiktoks-pupil-test-works-and-what-it-tells-us-about-love-and-attraction/
Hi Rachel this is such an interesting breakdown! I like how you connected TikTok with what we learned in physiology. Pupil dilation isn't just a love response there's more to pupil dilation like you stated. I like how you mentioned dopamines role as well. It's quite insane how the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward can also be converted into NE, which is usually tied to stress. It just shows how interconnected it is. It seems as pupil dilation happens when there's a fast automatic signal that something important is happening whether that's danger or love or social bonding of some kind. The takeaway I took of all of this is that love isn't "stressful" but activates alertness so like your brain is lighting up to pay attention to someone special such as a significant other.
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