Lust and Love

Chapter 1: Mysteries of the Emotional Rollercoaster;

1: A Day in the Life of Bianca and Michael - Why Our Brain Produces ''Butterflies'';

2.1: Mapping the Brain is Like Decoding the Genome;

2.2: The Universe Inside Bianca's and Michael's Heads;

2.3: Think Before You Act! - Order Refused, Says the Spinal Cord;

3: Michael's Brain, a Dream Super Computer;

3.1: Is Our Brain a Parallel Computer?;

3.2: Right or Left? Our Split Brain has to Make a Decision;

3.3: Kissers Turn Right (Probably);

3.4: Can Thoughts be Measured?;

3.5: A Formula 1 Racing Car in Michael's Brain;

4: The Cell as a Chemical Reactor;

4.1: The First Encounter With Bianca: Michael's Ion Channels ''Remember'';

4.2: Michael has Localised Bianca: The ''Chemistry of the Moment'';

4.3: Michael's and Bianca's Emotions are Mainly Happening at the Front of the Right Hemisphere;

4.4: ''Squids'' Made of Niobium as a Compass of our Thoughts;

5: Outbursts of Emotion Set Molecular ''Submarines'' Going;

5.1: Michael's Love Triggers an Avalanche of Signalsin the Brain;

6: Neurotransmitters - Guardians of Emotions and Sleep;

6.1: Is Michael's Brain Squandering Energy?;

6.2: Bianca Likes Glucose - Her Brain Too;

Chapter 2: Two Networks of Nerves;

1: Hugs and Heartbeats;

1.1: Control Over Sex and Senses;

1.2: Team Work;

1.3: No Erection without the Cooperation of Vegetative and Somatic System;

Chapter 3: Signals of Love;

1: Love at First Sight?;

1.1: Shy Men Avoid Eye Contact-Women Look for it;

2: Anatomy of a Flirt;

3: The American Kama Sutra: Pulling Tactics;

Chapter 4: Tied Up with a Double Helix;

1: All in Our Genes?;

2: From Primordial Soup to DNA;

3: Chemistry: The Seed of Life, Mind, and Emotions;

4: Genes are Like Men;

4.1: Why does Michael have Dark Hair? Sugar and Phosphate Molecules Provide the Answer;

5: Inherited Genes: A Surprise Present;

Chapter 5: Hormones - The Body's Snailmail;

1: Blame it on the Adrenaline;

1.1: Adrenaline and Co.: the Secret Rulers of Our Emotional World;

1.2: Hormone Deficiency in the Brain can Trigger a Rollercoaster of Emotions;

1.3: Checks and Balances;

1.4: Exultation and Melancholy;

Chapter 6: Estrogen and Testosterone - Driving Our Emotional Lives;

1: The Secret Entanglement of Body and Soul;

2: Bianca Knows the Story but can't Fight her Feelings;

2.1: During Puberty, the Countdown of the Body's Chemistry Begins;

2.2: Men are Much Less Complicated, or are They?;

2.3: Testosterone - A Versatile Hormone;

3: Love is the Best Medicine;

3.1: Domestic Disputes Weaken the Immune System;

Chapter 7: Oxytocin - the ''Amuse-Gueule'' Among Hormones;

1: When Michael Caressed Bianca, her ''Chemical Factory'' Produced Oxytocin;

1.1: Keen on Cuddling after Orgasm? It's all in the Chemistry!;

1.2: From Moscow with Love: Oxytocin and the Pavlov Effect;

1.3: Why Women Pick up the Phone When They are Stressed;

1.4: Small Molecule, Big Effect;

1.5: Men and Women, Be Tolerant!;

1.6: Social Behaviour Benefits, Too.;

1.7: Oxytocin and Vasopressin - Chemical Compass Needles for Partnership and Fidelity;

Chapter 8: Dopamine - Casanova's Double-Edged ''Secret Weapon'';

1: A Hormone that makes us Euphoric;

1.1: Excess Amounts of Dopamine can Lead to Pathological Addiction to Love;

1.2: Male Rats Show a Pronounced ''Coolidge Effect'';

Chapter 9: Serotonin - the Happy Messenger in the Blood;

1: A Moody Messenger;

1.1: Sometimes Michael Craves Chocolate;

1.2: Pathological Love - Linked to Serotonin Deficiency;

1.3: Microparanoia - The Love Sickness;

Chapter 10: Phenylethylamine - the Stuff that Makes the Soul Jubilate;

1: Welcome to the Rollercoaster of Emotions;

1.1: The Elevator to Cloud 9 Smells of Fish;

Chapter 11: The Chemistry of Birth Control;

1: How about the Pill?;

1.1: Birth Control - Almost a Never Ending Story;

1.2:Just Crouch Down and have a Good Sneeze;

1.3: A Big Leap for the Biology of Small Eggs;

1.4: Why is There No Pill for the Male?;

Chapter 12: Menopause: When the Hormone Supply Falters;

1: Will You Always Love Me?;

1.1: Is Hormone Replacement Therapy the Way Out?;

1.2: Drugs from Nature's Treasure Trove;

1.3: Not only Women;

Chapter 13: Endogenous Opiates - the Chemistry of Euphoria;

1: It's not only the Adrenaline that Gets Michael and Bianca Started;

1.1: Is Our Brain a Poppy Flower?;

1.2: Researchers Go the Whole Hog;

1.3: Long Time no See?;

2: Endorphins - An Emergency Centre of the Body?;

2.1: Mice Turn into Little Cowards;

2.2: Faith is the Best Medicine - Endorphins and The Placebo Effect;

3: Endorphins in Pain Research;

3.1: Opiates Linked to Near Death Experience?;

3.2: Hugging the Pain Away;

3.3: Immediately After Birth, Mother and Baby are full of Opiates;

3.4: Breastfeeding Makes Babies High;

4: Naloxone - Opponent of the Opiates;

4.1: Without Endorphins, The World of Intensive Emotions Remains Locked;

5: Natural Opiates;

6: Synthetic Opioids;

6.1: Synthetic Opiates were Meant to Knock Out Terrorists;

7: Are Our Opiate Receptors a Blessing or a Curse of Nature?;

Chapter 14: Chemistry for the Eye of the Beholder - Lipsticks through the Ages;

1: Bianca's Red Lips get Michael all Excited;

1.1: In the Ice Age, Ochre was all the Rage;

1.2: A Magic Wand of Cosmetics - Thanks to Chemistry;

Chapter 15: Secret Scents of Seduction;

1: Come on let's Go;

1.1: From the ''Dialogue with the Gods'' to Modern Perfume;

1.2: Top Notes, Middle Notes, and Base Notes: An Excursion into the Chemistry of Fragrances;

1.3: A Frenchman had a Nose for it;

1.4: Animal Instincts;

1.5: Take a Deep Breath - How Our Sense of Smell Works;

1.6: Is the Gradual Loss of Our Sense of Smell an Error of Evolution?;

1.7: Show Your True Colours and I Tell You Which Fragrance You Prefer;

Chapter 16: Pheromones - Words in the Dialogue of Fragrances;

1: Do Pheromones make Humans Horny, Too?;

1.1: A Relic from Earlier Days of Evolution?;

1.2: The Truffle Pig in us Decides Whether We Get on with Each Other;

1.3: Men are Smellier Than Women;

1.4: Napoleon to His Wife: ''Don't Wash, Will Arrive in Three Days.'';

1.5: Copulins - the ''Chemical Weapons'' of Women;

1.6: Artificial Pheromones in Perfumes make Men Keen to Cuddle;

1.7: ''I Don't Like Your Smell, Because Our Genes are Too Similar'';

Chapter 17: The ABC of Aphrodisiacs;

1: A Little Help from My Friends;

1.1: E is for Eggs;

1.2: G is for Gele| e Royal and Ginseng;

1.3: L is for Licorice;

1.4: O is for Oysters;

1.5: P is for Papaverine Injections;

1.6: R is for Rhinoceros Horn;

1.7: S is for Spanish Fly;

1.8: T is for Tiririca;

1.9: V is for Vitamin E;

1.10: Y is for yohimbine;

Chapter 18: Viagra & Co;

1: A Growing Problem;

1.1: The Discovery of Viagra;

1.2: The Penis as a Book-Keeper;

1.3: Viagra - Just What the Doctor Ordered?;1.4: Potent Drugs Fight Impotence;

Chapter 19: Epilogue - Returning from the Airport;

1: The Important Thing is That The Chemistry Works - The Rest Remains a Miracle;

Further Reading;

Subject Index