Science can’t define everything in the universe. Well, to be more precise, our little species can’t use science to explain everything in the universe. There’s just too much that we still don’t know—we’re missing too many variables—so a lot of things are still rather perplexing. What came before the Big Bang? How does physics operate at the center of a black hole? What about abiogenesis? These are all things that our science currently can’t answer.
That said, there is a lot that science has figured out, and some of the things that it can explain are pretty surprising. Take love, for example. Although science can’t explain all of the complex social and cultural interactions that affect attraction and courting rituals, it can explain quite a bit about the biology of love.
To this extent, science can also explain heartbreak.
And really, it's not about the heart (not even a little bit). It's about the brain. MRI scans have shown that people who have recently been dumped have higher than normal activity in the region of the brain that registers physical pain. This causes a variety of symptoms, as it releases a host of stress hormones (like cortisol and adrenalin) which cause things like nausea, shortness of breath etc.
Recently, the guys over at AsapSCIENCE made a video that delves into the science of heartbreak. See it below.
Watch: The Science of Heartbreak
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