It’s All Numbers Up Here:  Love and Decision Making | Science News | Scoop.it

Many of the brain areas implicated in the neuroimaging studies of love also light up during gambling tasks. Oxytocin, the so-called “cuddle chemical,” is measured almost as often in economic games as it is in pair-bonding studies. Both love and money offer the promise of great reward—but also the potential of overwhelming risks. Are the overlaps coincidence? Could making a decision to open your heart (or your bed) to another person be the same as deciding whether or not put $50 on black? It’s not hard to make an argument in either direction from a scientific perspective.