In humans, that includes other people. And when you fall in love or become a caregiver, the reward system helps you forge strong attachments so that you will stay together. Through the repeated pleasure you experience from contact with loved ones, you come to like, crave, and need these relationships. You become willing to sacrifice to maintain them. When you are separated, you long to be reunited. This isn’t a destructive dependence; it’s a neurobiological mechanism for commitment. The same brain responses that scientists compare to addiction are also signs of strong bonds.
