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Epub 2005 Nov 10. Raised plasma nerve growth factor levels associated with early-stage romantic love Enzo Emanuele  1 , Pierluigi Politi, Marika Bianchi, Piercarlo Minoretti, Marco Bertona, Diego Geroldi Affiliations Expand Affiliation 1 Interdepartmental Center for Research in Molecular Medicine, CIRMC, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 24, I-27100 Pavia, Italy. enzo.em@libero.it PMID: 16289361 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.09.002 Item in Clipboard Clinical Trial Raised plasma nerve growth factor levels associated with early-stage romantic love Enzo Emanuele et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2006 Apr. Show details Display options Display options Format Abstract PubMed PMID Psychoneuroendocrinology Actions Search in PubMed Search in NLM Catalog Add to Search . 2006 Apr;31(3):288-94. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.09.002. Epub 2005 Nov 10. Authors Enzo Emanuele  1 , Pierluigi Politi, Marika Bianchi, Piercarlo Minoretti, Marco Bertona, Diego Geroldi Affiliation 1 Interdepartmental Center for Research in Molecular Medicine, CIRMC, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 24, I-27100 Pavia, Italy. enzo.em@libero.it PMID: 16289361 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.09.002 Item in Clipboard Full-text links CiteDisplay options Display options Format Abstract PubMed PMID Abstract Our current knowledge of the neurobiology of romantic love remains scanty. In view of the complexity of a sentiment like love, it would not be surprising that a diversity of biochemical mechanisms could be involved in the mood changes of the initial stage of a romance. In the present study, we have examined whether the early romantic phase of a loving relationship could be associated with alterations in circulating levels of neurotrophins (NTs). Plasma levels of NGF, BDNF, NT-3 and NT-4 were measured in a total of 58 subjects who had recently fallen in love and compared with those of two control groups, consisting of subjects who were either single or were already engaged in a long-lasting relationship. NGF level was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in the subjects in love [mean (SEM): 227 (14) pg/ml] than in either the subjects with a long-lasting relationship [123 (10) pg/ml] or the subjects with no relationship [149 (12) pg/ml]. Notably, there was also a significant positive correlation between levels of NGF and the intensity of romantic love as assessed with the passionate love scale (r = 0.34; p = 0.007). No differences in the concentrations of other NTs were detected. In 39 subjects in love who-after 12-24 months-maintained the same relationship but were no longer in the same mental state to which they had referred during the initial evaluation, plasma NGF levels decreased and became indistinguishable from those of the control groups. Taken together, these findings suggest that some behavioural and/or psychological features associated with falling in love could be related to raised NGF levels in the bloodstream. Comment in NGF: a social molecule. Alleva E, Branchi I. Alleva E, et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2006 Apr;31(3):295-6; author reply 297-8. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.12.003. Epub 2006 Feb 2. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2006. PMID: 16457958 No abstract available. Similar articles Intrauterine growth restriction and circulating neurotrophin levels at term. Malamitsi-Puchner A, Nikolaou KE, Economou E, Boutsikou M, Boutsikou T, Kyriakakou M, Puchner KP, Hassiakos D. Malamitsi-Puchner A, et al. Early Hum Dev. 2007 Jul;83(7):465-9. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2006.09.001. Epub 2006 Oct 30. Early Hum Dev. 2007. PMID: 17071024 NGF and romantic love. Emanuele E. Emanuele E. Arch Ital Biol. 2011 Jun;149(2):265-8. doi: 10.4449/aib.v149i2.1367. Arch Ital Biol. 2011. PMID: 21701998 Review. Serum and sputum neurotrophin levels in chronic persistent cough. Chaudhuri R, McMahon AD, McSharry CP, Macleod KJ, Fraser I, Livingston E, Thomson NC. Chaudhuri R, et al. Clin Exp Allergy. 2005 Jul;35(7):949-53. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2005.02286.x. Clin Exp Allergy. 2005. PMID: 16008683 Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) blood levels in patients with acute carbon monoxide poisoning - a preliminary observations. Ciszowski K, Gomółka E, Gawlikowski T, Szpak D, Potoczek A, Boba M. Ciszowski K, et al. Przegl Lek. 2016;73(8):552-9. Przegl Lek. 2016. PMID: 29677430 Intrauterine growth restriction, brain-sparing effect, and neurotrophins. Malamitsi-Puchner A, Nikolaou KE, Puchner KP. Malamitsi-Puchner A, et al. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006 Dec;1092:293-6. doi: 10.1196/annals.1365.026. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006. PMID: 17308153 Review. See all similar articles Cited by 13 articles Nerve Growth Factor Serum Levels Are Associated With Regional Gray Matter Volume Differences in Schizophrenia Patients. Neugebauer K, Hammans C, Wensing T, Kumar V, Grodd W, Mevissen L, Sternkopf MA, Novakovic A, Abel T, Habel U, Nickl-Jockschat T. Neugebauer K, et al. Front Psychiatry. 2019 Apr 26;10:275. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00275. eCollection 2019. Front Psychiatry. 2019. PMID: 31105606 Free PMC article. Falling in love is associated with immune system gene regulation. Murray DR, Haselton MG, Fales M, Cole SW. Murray DR, et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2019 Feb;100:120-126. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.09.043. Epub 2018 Oct 2. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2019. PMID: 30299259 Free PMC article. I love you from the bottom of my hypothalamus: The role of stress physiology in romantic pair bond formation and maintenance. Mercado E, Hibel LC. Mercado E, et al. Soc Personal Psychol Compass. 2017 Feb;11(2):e12298. doi: 10.1111/spc3.12298. Epub 2017 Feb 16. Soc Personal Psychol Compass. 2017. PMID: 30220909 Free PMC article. Evaluation of specific neural marker GAP-43 and TH combined with Masson-trichrome staining for forensic autopsy cases with old myocardial infarction. Yu TS, Wang X, Zhang HD, Bai RF, Zhao R, Guan DW. Yu TS, et al. Int J Legal Med. 2018 Jan;132(1):187-195. doi: 10.1007/s00414-017-1590-x. Epub 2017 Apr 11. Int J Legal Med. 2018. PMID: 28401305 Romantic Love Is Associated with Enhanced Inhibitory Control in an Emotional Stop-Signal Task. Song S, Zou Z, Song H, Wang Y, d'Oleire Uquillas F, Wang H, Chen H. Song S, et al. Front Psychol. 2016 Oct 25;7:1574. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01574. eCollection 2016. Front Psychol. 2016. PMID: 27826260 Free PMC article. 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