When they say, "It was like electricity when we touched," they don't realize just how true that is. It's a bit of a sad comment on the state of our nation's educational system, really. Logically, because of the way the nervous system works, electricity is involved whenever anyone touches anything.
Booth would say that they mean something more intense, that they're trying to express how that touch made them feel, but that would be more likely a chemical, hormonal reaction. Although, depending on what message was being sent within the brain, it could still involve electricity. And neither of those two previous statements explains what the heck people think they're talking about.
Actually, the nervous system is probably my second favorite bodily system, after the skeletal, of course. Just thinking about it, it's like a roller coaster.
We touch.
In the surface of my skin, nerve endings react. Jolts of electricity race up my spinal cord to my brain. Sparks jump from axon to dendron, neuron to neuron. A picture of my brain right now would have the tactile center "lit up like the Fourth of July," as Booth would say. Quite frankly, there would probably be a significant amount of activity in the emotional center, too.
See what I meant about it being exciting? I'm pretty sure Booth still thinks science isn't fun.
What people actually mean to say when they say things like, "Sparks flew," or "It was like electricity," is something along the lines of, "There was mutual attraction between us," or "There was a definite neurological reaction when we touched." Maybe it would be more easily accepted to say, "Electricity ran through me when we touched." There, see? I can compromise. That last statement is both vague enough to be accepted colloquially and scientifically accurate.
We touch and electricity runs through me. He evokes quite a physiological response. Don't even get me started on when he kisses me. The man "fries my brain". Floods it with dopamine, adrenaline, serotonin, endorphins… I could keep going. And there it is. I could so easily keep going.
I sometimes wonder if it is possible to get addicted to another human being. Considering the neurochemistry that takes place when a couple is in the passionate stage of their love, it seems not only possible, but also likely. The brain activity of a person "somersaulting" in love (Well, "heels over head" makes more sense than "head over heels." That'd just be standing upright. And "heels over head" would be a somersault, so it works logically.) mimics that of a mentally ill person or a person addicted to dopamine stimulators like cocaine or junk food. It's only when the couple moves on to an established relationship that oxytocin, the more comfortable and familiar form of love, takes over. Oxytocin is much less of a brain-cell-killer than dopamine and noraepinephrine. That's how so-called "lasting" relationships are formed. And the desire to revert to the brain-frying days is what drives couples to "keep the spark alive" or "liven up the bedroom" or cheat.
The truth is, some people are more genetically inclined to be cheaters. On the other hand, some are just addicted to the electricity.
