The Phenomena of the Desert Island Couple

Break apart a human brain, or a primate brain (if one is handier), and under all the folds of grey matter, just slightly above the midbase region exists a collection of neurons labeled the VTA. This would be the pleasure center of the brain and it is these collection of neurons that regulates the reward pathway circuitry of the human body. It dispatches an organic chemical called dopamine. The release of dopamine inside the body causes heart rates to increase and other physiological responses associated with enjoyment and bliss. The evolutionary development of this pleasure/reward system is useful in personal human development. This reward system is the center of experience, learning, motivation and the reinforcement of behaviors. So everything we experience, what we do, how we act, the people we meet, what we read and consume, all the things in our lives that we come into contact with in the external world that brings pleasure will cause this particular region of the brain to fire away and release dopamine into our systems.

This neurological-chemical ballet that happens inside us does so at varying intensities. We hear a funny joke and it brings laughter and joy. But, if we hear the same joke another time and then another time it doesn't elicit the same amount of laughter or joy as the first time we heard the joke. Especially, if that particular joke relies on surprise for humor. The brain can predict the outcome and is already ahead of the joke. So, as one would expect the brain activity inside the VTA will be much less than before, releasing lesser and lesser amounts of dopamine over time. Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing. If we're exposed to the same external stimulus no matter how initially pleasurable, this repeated exposure will likely lessen the dopamine rush of pleasure we received the first time. For the most part.

But, for whatever quirk of biology, there is a short list of things in this world I find I still enjoy even after experiencing them for the up-teenth time. There are certain movies where repeated viewings does not diminish their ability to entertain me. Such as, no matter how many countless times I have already seen Goodfellas, or Raiders of the lost ark, if I catch them on TV, those movies continue to draw me in and I will watch all the way to the end. I can still laugh at the same honeymooners episodes over and over even though I can recite every bit of dialogue verbatim at this point in my life. There are some songs that I can listen to on endless loop. Some foods, like Somoa Girl Scout Cookies, I would be fine eating for every meal. For me (and I believe in others, as well) there are a handful of earthly things and activities that never fails to activate that part of the brain that generates pleasure. The level of intensity of which endures.

Which brings me to the familiar topic of the eponymous 'Desert Island List.' The list of albums, movies, books, or tv shows one would hypothetically prefer to have to keep company with until the end of days if stranded on a desert island. These collection of lists are all personal in nature bowing to matters of individual tastes. There is value in pragmatically evaluating the media we experience and create order of those items that have enriched and informed a life. The exercise of making these lists usually becomes a way of taking a snapshot of a person's identity, creating a personality profile. Ultimately, for anybody, these lists would have to include those pop cultural artifacts that would continue to forever generate the same amount of dopamine released inside an individual's body, bringing delight even after multiple exposure over many years.

There have been many neurological studies measuring the decline of passion amongst married couples. It's commonplace for relationships to experience a level of passion fatigue. Usually after 2 years into the marriage there is a marked drop off from the initial, unbridled romantic feelings that existed in the early stages of the relationship. It seems the brain cannot continue to muster that same intensity of biological/chemical alchemy between married couples after a time. Brain scans actually measured the level of brain activity within the VTA of married test subjects upon seeing their partner, and as expected the level of VTA activity diminished most after 2 years. Unable to sustain that initial level of passion, married couples will transition into a different less intense stage that relies on compassionate bonding. For the most part.

There were exceptions. For a few couples that were married over many years, the VTA activity in fact didn't diminish, according to some brain imaging results by the Department of Psychology at Stony Brook University. With these couples, seeing facial images of their spouse triggered the same level of VTA activity as one would expect from seeing their spouse in the early stages of the relationship. Amazingly, it would seem seeing their partner generated the same amount of dopamine-induced bliss similar to seeing their partner for the first time. So, it appears there are married couples well suited to be stranded on a desert island. The desert island couple - where familiarity breeds contentment.

Maybe if we were to analyze the things that still excite after multiple viewings, find shared themes or common threads, dissect why these particular books, movies or songs resonate with the same intensity and other ones do not, we can figure out what kind of mate would engender the same continued excitement over time? Is there a correlation between a person's perfect album side and their perfect mate?