You’re my perfect DNA match: The genetics behind love

As the proverb goes, falling in love changes people – the way we burn and yearn and all things in between unmask distinct bits within us, and they say that in one way or another, we never revert back to the person we once were after we have loved. Through the years, the psychological facet of how brain chemistry is altered stood as the viewpoint in understanding the science behind the cathartic phenomenon called love. It was established since then that every sensation throbbing in our chest is just neurotransmitters traversing our system. However, over time, such discourse has been glimpsed from different points of view, and it was found that love is tied not only to shifts in the mind but also to changes in one’s genetic makeup. That being so, as bizarre as it sounds, the use of DNA tests in pursuit of a match has been something people actually do and claim to be true. 

DNA Romance Test, for one, is a service hinged on genomics, as it works by examining the DNA bases in 100 locations on chromosome six, and dictates compatibility based on the presence of complementary bases between two people. Additionally, GenePartner matches partners by analyzing specific genes in their body. These love-matching tests built on the premise of genetics appear to be far-reaching and even ludicrous to some extent, but the stature of using the said science as the understructure of understanding love is not really new.

For instance, while it is true that neurotransmitters impact mood and behavior, genes also influence the expression of these chemical messengers. Psychology links romantic connections with changes in levels of oxytocin and vasopressin and associates the desire to have children with dopamine.  Genetics reveals gene regulation affects hormone activity, occurring at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels via transcription factors and microRNAs. 

Surprisingly, our physiology changes with feelings linked to immune responses influenced by gene regulation. Studies show that attraction for someone is substantially augmented by their scent, which in turn is dependent on the action of olfactory receptor genes affected by Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA). HLA comprises our major histocompatibility complexes (MHC) that function in recognizing potential health risks. Similarly, the study of Murray (2019) concludes that when people are in love, the transcriptional rate of genes coding for immune cells, namely monocytes, granulocytes, and dendritic cells, becomes modified. Furthermore, connecting with someone increases interferon production or proteins that fight against viral threats. One could instinctively think, given these, that love is perceived by the body as a threat, and although such could be said from a cognitive perspective, genetics reveals that these molecules are upregulated to accelerate attraction and facilitate reproduction, especially since they play parts in pathogenic defense during pregnancy.

On top of all that, like most cellular processes, these modifications are reversible. For example, when people fall out of love, it is because the once-elevated levels of immune cells and neurotransmitters return to normal, thus explaining why fondness and passion could grow faint, if not totally perish, over time. This challenges the psychological idea that we are never the same person twice after love, because in a physiological sense, we actually could be, all thanks to the switching on and off of the genes controlling these traits. 

The questions then arise: are these tests reliable in finding true love, and should society transition into using genetics as the cornerstone for such? Well, the answer lies in nowhere but in the ambiguity of love itself. Indeed, genes play parts in the somatic changes affecting the way we think and feel, but it goes without saying that it does not stand as the sole factor in finding our match. Certainly, physical attraction and compatibility in long-term goals, interests, and values also need to be considered in choosing partners, and these are determined not just by our genotype, but also by the environment surrounding us. Everything then somehow boils down to the never-ending debate on nature and nurture, and thus, to the notion that building wholesome connections is only possible when these two exist in harmony because, in a world where perspectives exist to blur the line between two polar things, it feels wrong to think that one is more essential than the other. Nevertheless, after everything that was touched upon, the gravity of genetics and its applications in love, and in real life on the whole, remains as astounding as ever.