Table of Contents

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

Reviews

I found much in the book to interest me, particularly the section on the hormones oxytocin and dopamine.Useful as a source of chemical anecdotes on the theme of love and human sex.
*Chemistry World, May 2007 (Tristram Wyatt)*

Its strength is in the way it brings together an eclectic mix of material in a concise, coherent manner.The content is so absorbing......few conceptual challenges that a good A-level student could not handle.
*Education in Chemistry, 2007 (Mike Shipton)*

Engaging and unusual book
*The Telegraph, 20th November 2006*