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Cited by 354Neuroendocrine regulation and behaviorHeart Rate Variability and Autonomic ControlEvolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior

Love: An emergent property of the mammalian autonomic nervous system

W. Porges, Stephen·1998·Psychoneuroendocrinology
DOI 10.1016/s0306-4530(98)00057-2
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Abstract

The evolution of the autonomic nervous system provides an organizing principle to interpret the adaptive significance of mammalian affective processes including courting, sexual arousal, copulation, and the establishment of enduring social bonds. According to the Polyvagal Theory (Porges, 1995, 1996, 1997), the well-documented phylogenetic shift in the neural regulation of the autonomic nervous system passes through three stages, each with an associated behavioral strategy. The first stage is characterized by a primitive unmyelinated visceral vagus that fosters digestion and responds to threat by depressing metabolic activity. Behaviorally, the first stage is associated with immobilization behaviors. The second stage is characterized by the sympathetic nervous system that is capable of increasing metabolic output and inhibiting the visceral vagus to foster mobilization behaviors necessary for 'fight or flight'. The third stage, unique to mammals, is characterized by a myelinated vagus that can rapidly regulate cardiac output to foster engagement and disengagement with the environment. The mammalian vagus is neuroanatomically linked to the cranial nerves that regulate social engagement via facial expression and vocalization. The Polyvagal Theory provides neurobiological explanations for two dimensions of intimacy: courting and the establishment of enduring pair-bonds. Courting is dependent upon the social engagement strategies associated with the mammalian vagus. The establishment of enduring pair-bonds is dependent upon a co-opting of the visceral vagus from an immobilization system associated with fear and avoidance to an immobilization system associated with safety and trust. The theory proposes that the phylogenetic development of the mammalian vagus is paralleled by a specialized communication, via oxytocin and vasopressin, between the hypothalamus and the medullary source nuclei of the viscera vagus, which facilitates sexual arousal, copulation, and the development of enduring pair-bonds.

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  • A well-functioning vagus is associated with a sense of safety, contributing to capacities for social closeness and sensitivity within caregiver-infant interactions and adult romantic relationships.

    “The well-functioning vagus is associated with a sense of safety, contributing to capacities for social closeness and sensitivity within caregiver-infant interactions as well as in adult romantic relationships (Porges, 1998, 2003).”

    From The evolved nest, oxytocin functioning, and prosocial development (2023) · cites this paper as Porges, 1998

  • There is ample evidence from the animal literature that physiological support for organized parenting behavior is necessary.

    “There is ample evidence from the animal literature that such physiological support for organized parenting behavior is necessary (e.g., Boccia & Pederson, 2001;Porges, 1998;Winslow et al., 2000;Wotjak et al., 1996).”

    From Infant and parent factors associated with early maternal sensitivity: A caregiver-attachment systems approach (2007) · cites this paper as Porges, 1998

  • Mammalian pair-bonding is supported by the vagal system, which physiologically mediates social engagement, facial expressivity, and vocalization.

    “the demonstration by Porges (1998) that mammalian pair-bonding is supported by the vagal system, which physiologically mediates social engagement, facial expressivity, and vocalization.”

    From Infant and parent factors associated with early maternal sensitivity: A caregiver-attachment systems approach (2007) · cites this paper as Porges (1998)

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Authors
W. Porges, S.
Venue
Psychoneuroendocrinology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
1998-11
Volume
23
Issue
8
Pages
837-861
ISSN
0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/s0306-4530(98)00057-2
OpenAlex
W2121633356
Cited by
354
References
70
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 44 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 17
FWCI
1.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Public Health Service (MCJ-240622)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD 22628, R01HD022628)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Keywords
polyvagal theory, social engagement, courtship behavior, pair bonding, sexual arousal, copulation, oxytocin, vasopressin, hypothalamus, fight or flight, facial expressions, vocalizations, intimacy
MeSH terms
Animals, Autonomic Nervous System, Biological Evolution, Female, Humans, Love, Male, Mammals, Phylogeny

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