The DOI matches its Crossref record; 27 of the 27 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Alteration of the platelet serotonin transporter in romantic love
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The evolutionary consequences of love are so important that there must be some long-established biological process regulating it. Recent findings suggest that the serotonin (5-HT) transporter might be linked to both neuroticism and sexual behaviour as well as to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The similarities between an overvalued idea, such as that typical of subjects in the early phase of a love relationship, and obsession, prompted us to explore the possibility that the two conditions might share alterations at the level of the 5-HT transporter. METHODS: Twenty subjects who had recently (within the previous 6 months) fallen in love, 20 unmedicated OCD patients and 20 normal controls, were included in the study. The 5-HT transporter was evaluated with the specific binding of 3H-paroxetine (3H-Par) to platelet membranes. RESULTS: The results showed that the density of 3H-Par binding sites was significantly lower in subjects who had recently fallen in love and in OCD patients than in controls. DISCUSSION: The main finding of the present study is that subjects who were in the early romantic phase of a love relationship were not different from OCD patients in terms of the density of the platelet 5-HT transporter, which proved to be significantly lower than in the normal controls. This would suggest common neurochemical changes involving the 5-HT system, linked to psychological dimensions shared by the two conditions, perhaps at an ideational level.
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“In addition, research has shown that the early stages of romantic love may be linked to alterations in plasma levels of cortisol, sex steroids, nerve growth factor (NGF), and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (Marazziti et al., 2009), as well as decreased density of the serotonin transporter in platelets (Emanuele et al., 2006; Marazziti et al., 1999; Marazziti and Canale, 2004), suggesting”
From Oxytocin during the initial stages of romantic attachment: Relations to couples’ interactive reciprocity (2012) · cites this paper as Marazziti et al., 1999
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“As ideias intrusivas e repetitivas com relação ao parceiro, igualmente frequentes na etapa da Atração, por sua vez, se assemelham às ideias obsessivas presentes no Transtorno ObsessivoCompulsivo (TOC) (Marazziti et al., 1999; Marazziti, 2007).”
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Valent, P. (2007)
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“Could we infer from these data a damage in serotonin metabolism in OCD patients? Not necessarily, because the same alteration has been observed in people who are in love (40).”
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Unangepasste Erfahrung von Liebe
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Karandashev, V. N. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-63577-9_2
Love as Psychological Interpersonal Attraction
Karandashev, V. N. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-63577-9_4
We know more and less about love: a comment on Babková and Repiská (2025)
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Cultural Diversity of Romantic Love Experience
Karandashev, V. N. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-76665-7_4-1
El enamoramiento es una adicción
Picazo, O., & Cabrera-Reyes, E. A. (2025) · Ciencia UANL · doi:10.29105/cienciauanl28.133-2
The science of love is not quite there…
Bode, A. (2025) · mSystems · doi:10.1128/msystems.01189-25
“This claim is based on a common misinterpretation of an initial endocrinological study (10), does not consider a second endocrinological study (11), and does not take into account a recent psychological study on the effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in people experiencing romantic…”
Cultural Diversity of Romantic Love Experience
Karandashev, V. N. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-94512-0_4
Brigante, G., Paglia, F., Livraghi, D. R., Valentina, L. D., Griseta, V., Perri, C., Carani, C., & Simoni, M. (2025) · Andrology · doi:10.1111/andr.70158
“However, reevaluation of the same subjects 1 year after the start of the relationship showed a leveling of this expression pattern compared with healthy controls, without gender differences [ 31 ].”
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Karandashev, V. N. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-14279-5_3
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Neuroscience of the Adult Stalker
Marazziti, D. (2026) · doi:10.1002/9781118832202.ch25
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Sunzeri, F. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-14465-2_8
Fujisaki, K., Ueda, R., Nakai, R., & Abe, N. (2026) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-026-01470-w
From Cellular Selectivity to Romantic Bonding: The Evolution of LovePreprint
Uçar, B. (2026) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-10656477/v1
Metadata
- Authors
- MARAZZITI, D., AKISKAL, H. S., ROSSI, A., & CASSANO, G. B.
- Affiliations
- University of Pisa (IT)
- Venue
- Psychological Medicine
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 1999-05
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 741-745
- ISSN
- 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8978
- OpenAlex
- W2006411360
- Cited by
- 175
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 0.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
- Keywords
- platelet serotonin transporter, romantic love, obsessive-compulsive disorder, serotonergic system, overvalued ideas, obsession, neuroticism, sexual behavior, evolution of love
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Binding Sites, Biological Transport, Buffers, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Love, Male, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Serotonin, Sexual Behavior, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, Paroxetine
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