According to a BBC article, scientists have discovered that much of that heady first response that we call love may be thanks to the release of a chemical in our brains. The protein, a type of neurotrophin, gives rise to the feelings we associate with falling in love.

Not only that, but apparently these effects wear off after a time, allowing the extreme early feelings to mellow into a less passionate but potentially more stable relationship with the loved one. Which is something of a relief, since the headline announces that “Romantic love lasts just a year” - for a moment I thought we’d all been doomed to very brief relationships indeed.

These researches into the mechanisms of our feelings are all very interesting and worthy, I’m sure, but too often a crucial question is never asked. It may well be true that this neurotrophin is responsible for the feelings we experience in the first flush of love but what causes the chemical to be released in the first place? It seems to me that the chemical is much more a result than a cause and that the scientists are trying to catch a will o’ the wisp in all this.