Seed Talks: The Neuroscience of Attraction with Dr Anna Machin

Why are we attracted to some people but not others? And why is attraction sometimes a bolt from the blue, while at others it’s a gentle, slow burn? Join evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin in unraveling the tangle of factors that lead to attraction and love. Uncover the complex processes in your body triggered by the moment of first encounter, from your senses being hardwired to assess your potential partner in milliseconds, to the complex algorithm that your brain employs to test compatibility. Explore the neurochemical mechanisms that increase your confidence and drive you to take the first step towards love, and the ability some of us have to smell genetic compatibility. We will also examine different attachment pairings which increase the likelihood of long term success and the influence that genes and environment can have on who we choose. Finally, we look to the future in considering potential pharmaceutical applications of love: will there ever be a drug which will help us attract ‘the one’?

Doors open at 7pm, talk starts at 7.30pm – come down early and grab a bite to eat in the main bar, before heading upstairs for the talk!

Dr Anna Machin is an evolutionary anthropologist, writer and broadcaster.  She is world renowned for her research into the science of human love.  She has written two books – The Life of Dad: The Making of the Modern Father and Why We Love: The definitive guide to our most fundamental need – and writes regularly for the Guardian, The Observer, The New York Times and New Scientist.  She is the host of the Apple recommended and ARIA nominated podcast How We’re Wired and the tri-weekly science podcast Why? (launching October 2023).  She appears regularly on both national and international television and was seen most recently on Planet Sex (BBC) with Cara Delevingne.