Love and other drugs: Ask Stanford Med

When you ask someone to describe the physical sensation of love, chances are you’ll get an answer like falling head-over-heels, having butterflies in the stomach or walking on sunshine. As it turns out, and as described in a Stanford study, those intense, consuming feelings of love can do more than make you happy: They appear to block pain in ways similar to painkillers or illicit drugs.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, the Medical School’s SCOPE blog asked SEAN MACKEY, associate professor of anesthesia and senior author of that pain study, to respond to your questions about the analgesic effects of love – and he’s happy to answer general questions about pain research, too.

You have until Friday at 5 p. m. to submit your questions. For more information, visit LIA STEAKLEY‘s full SCOPE blog post.