The Scientific American book of love, sex, and the brain: the neuroscience of how, when, why, and who we love

Who do you love? -- Introduction: What is this thing called love? : So what is love? ; Love is a many splendored thing, and the Greeks had a word for all of the types ; The basics of your brain in love and sex ; I've got you under my skull: love in your brain ; You make me feel so good: the pleasure center ; The very thought of you ; How scientists research love and sex in your brain -- 1. Born to love: why people need people : Do you see what I see? How mirror neurons connect us ; The dangers of involuntary mind merging ; The chemistry of love ; Love is everywhere: where love grows in the brain ; A brain unable to love: inside the brain of a psychopath ; Baby face, you've got the cutest little baby face -- 2. Learning to love : How your parents affect your love life ; Love at first sight: the earliest lessons in love ; If you could read my mind: moms do ; A mother's everlasting love ; How parenting primes your brain for love ; Parenting rewires the daddy brain as well ; How father love feeds both brains ; Postpartum depression: misery for mom and baby ; Loving the one who hurts you: why children cling to abusers ; What if things went wrong with that first love? ; In the end: do parents matter? -- 3. His brain, her brain, gay brain, and other brains : How real are the differences? ; The five genders of the brain ; His brain, her brain: the geography ; So what does this have to do with love? ; Our changeable brains ; Some myths about male and female brains: true or false? ; Toujours gay: the gay brain is born that way ; Can animals be gay? Better to call it bisexual ; I am what I am ; The third gender: when gender and sex do not align ; Are there asexuals among us? On the possibility of a fourth sexual orientation -- 4. That old black magic: your brain in love : How love and sex are good for your brain ; When love occupies your brain ; Who do you love? And who loves ya, baby? ; You've got that lovin' feelin', but what turns you on? ; You go to my nose: the power of smell over sex ; A kiss is (more than) just a kiss ; You light up my brain ; What's love got to do with it? Plenty it turns out, for women -- Need some love potion? Try a bit of oxytocin spray ; I'll have what she's having: what makes a better female orgasm? ; Does the penis have a brain of its own? ; When things go wrong: a fine romance --

5. Friendship, such a perfect blendship: or, with a little help from my friends : Is friendship declining? ; Are you lonesome tonight? 60 million other Americans are ; You've got a friend, or you should? ; Widening the social circle ; Imaginary friends: TV characters can ease your pain ; Until the real thing comes along: your brain on Facebook ; Work, the "other love" in your life ; Can animals love? Yes, and more ; How to make friends

6. Only you can make my dreams come true: let's get married : Grow old along with me: the marriage benefits ; You make me feel so good: romance lowers stress ; Finding that special someone: looking for love in all the wrong places? ; Falling and staying in love ; I've grown accustomed to your face ; My one and only love: are we monogamous? ; Granny's got to have it ; Your hormones may drive you apart: a tough pill to swallow ; Making love last: I get a kick out of you ; Can pornography help your love life? ; Love will keep us together: lasting romance is embossed in the brain ; Will you still need me when I'm 64?

7. You've lost that lovin' feelin': when love dies : Breaking up is hard to do: how rejection affects your brain ; The jilted brain ; After the love is gone, you ache and ache ; Can't live if living is without you: the widowhood effect ; Achy breaky heart: can you die of a broken heart ; Ain't no cure for love, but acetaminophen could help ; Every time you say goodbye, I die a little: why it hurts to leave your lover ; Broken promises: can the brain predict betrayal? ; Coping with a breaking heart

8. For the love of God : Searching for God in your brain ; Epilepsy, the temporal lobe, and God ; Strokes of insight: brain changes and spiritual awakening ; Religious ecstasy is like romantic love, in the brain at least ; God on the brain: what brain scans show ; Could religion shrink your brain? ; The evolutionary roots of God thought ; God neurons may be everywhere

9. Technology, science, and the future of sex : The wonderful world of cybersex ; Sex in bits and bytes: the future of virtual sex is here

10. How can love survive? : But what of love?