Are there chemical formulae for emotions like love, hate, anger, joy and jealousy?

If you are looking to rustle up a love potion, you may be out of luck.


Asked by: Kevin McGrath, London

No. Although chemicals play an important part in mediating our emotional response, the interaction of various hormones with our current state of mind and memories is much too complicated to be captured in a simple formula.

If you inject someone with adrenalin, they may feel the physiological sensation of anxiety, but whether this translates to the emotion of fear, anger or sexual arousal will depend on the circumstances.

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