Innovations in the game of love

From neurons to nanobytes, scientists are discovering more about why we fall in love, while technologists are discovering new ways to help us find the loves of our lives.

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The chemicals in the brain that govern addiction play a nearly identical role in love. "The brain activity that corresponds with those feelings of intense, euphoric pleasure, is similar to the way the brain responds to cocaine or heroin," neuroscientist David Linden writes.

Sarah L. Voisin / The Washington Post

Scientists are working on treatments involving the use of oxytocin to combat addictions, such as those to gambling or drugs. "We are starting to develop drugs to help individuals recover from addiction based on our understanding of the brain's reactions," writes neuroscientist David Linden. "This involves reducing cravings, which lead to relapse."

Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images

Cheek'd is a service that gives subscribers a way to transition from a spontaneous in-person contact to the Web. Cheek'd users hand out business cards to people they are interested in starting a relationship with, giving the recipient details on how to be in touch online via Cheek'd's Web site. Lorie Cheek, left, founder of Cheek'd, explains her start-up at the Tech Cocktail D.C. Mixer in June. Brennan McReynolds, co-founder of Re-Event, talks with Cheek'd card user Julianna Morais.

Evy Mages / For The Washington Post

Andrew Mason, founder and chief executive of Groupon, speaks at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco last September. Mason announced the creation of "Grouspawn," a dating assistant that encourages first-time daters to use Groupon's Web-based coupon service to qualify for a college scholarship for any children the couple may have.

Noah Berger / Bloomberg News

An iPhone timer keeps track as professionals host a June speed-dating event geared to South Asian/Indian singles at Zen Bistro and Wine Bar in Arlington.

Evy Mages / For The Washington Post

Suzanne Terry, right, with baby Blossom visits Amanda Brewer and baby Reed, every week to pick up extra breast milk in Fort Belvoir. The two met through a Facebook site called "Eats on Feets" which connects breast milk donors and recipients. Oxytocin is the chemical produced in mothers’ brains when they give birth and is a key ingredient when it comes to a mother developing the life-long bond with her child. Oxytocin nasal sprays are on the market to help women who have difficulty breastfeeding. The sprays effectively introduce the chemical into the bloodstream, helping to induce the “milk letdown reflex” necessary for nursing.

Linda Davidson / The Washington Post

Helen Fisher, center, is a biological anthropologist and chief scientific adviser for the dating Web site Chemistry.com, a division of Match.com. Here she chats with a man during a Match.com party in Tokyo in June 2009. Fisher is the author of multiple books on differences between the sexes, love, and the role personality plays in romantic relationships.

Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP/Getty Images

Psychologist Neil Clark Warren, right, the founder of dating Web site eHarmony, presents newlyweds Inge and Craig White of West Hollywood, Calif., with a wedding gift from Tiffany & Co. The gift was the first in the new Everlasting Love program, which celebrates the marriages of all the couples who met through eHarmony. Warren is the author of multiple books on why marriages fail and succeed.

/ PR Newswire

Jennifer Zimmermann and Arthur William toast in their limousine after their August wedding ceremony in Arlington. The couple met through eHarmony.

Evy Mages / For The Washington Post

Featured Photo Galleries

PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 29: Serena Williams of USA stretches to plays a forehand in her women's singles first round match between Serena Williams of USA and Virginie Razzano of France during day three of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 29, 2012 in Paris, France. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

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Winnie Pajcic, 9, holds on to a railing as she leans back in the wind during a visit to Stockton Park in Ortega, Fla., in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Beryl on Monday May 28, 2012. Beryl came ashore early Monday near Jacksonville Beach with near-hurricane-strength winds of 70 mph. (AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Kelly Jordan)

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Camels rest at a watering hole outside the town of Aleg May 25, 2012. REUTERS/Joe Penney (MAURITANIA - Tags: ANIMALS SOCIETY)

Camels, tigers, turtles, a giant stag beetle and more in animal views

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ANNAPOLIS, MD- MAY 29: Graduates cheer as the Blue Angels fly over during the 100th anniversary of the United States Naval Academy Graduation and Commissioning Ceremonies in Annapolis, Maryland, on Tuesday, May 29, 2012. U.S Sec. of Defense Leon Edward Panetta gave the graduation address. (Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post)

U.S. Naval Academy graduation

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta gave the commencement address at the ceremony.

LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 26: Singer/actress Jennifer Lopez (C) performs with dancers during the Q'Viva! The Chosen Live show at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on May 26, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Henry, a calf, sustained a head wound and required stitches after being slashed over the weekend.

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A calf, two goats and a chicken were slashed over the weekend at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon.

COVINGTON, LA - MAY 14: Brother Emmanuel Labrise of St. Joseph's Abbey prepares a casket for lining on May 15, 2012 in Covington, Louisiana. Louisiana law forbids those who are not licensed funeral directors from selling caskets. And since Hurricane Katrina leveled the timberlands that once provided the main source of funding for the abbey, the monks have attempted to make a living by building and selling simple cypress caskets. The monks won their first round last year, and have a hearing at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in June. (Photo by Sean Gardner/For the Washington Post)

Louisiana monks fight for the right to sell coffins

Federal court case pits a group of monks against the funeral home industry.

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