Who do we love? Who loves us? And why? Is love really a mystery, or can neuroscience offer some answers to these age-old questions? This is Horstman, a Sacramento, Calif. freelance’s third book about the brain. Horstman takes us on a tour of our most important sex and love organ and the whole smorgasbord of our many kinds of love — from the bonding of parent and child to the passion of erotic love, the affectionate love of companionship, the role of animals in our lives, and the love of god. Drawing on the latest neuroscience, she explores why and how we are born to love. Among the findings: Parental love makes our brains larger; sex and orgasm make it healthier, social isolation makes it miserable — and although the craving for romantic love can be described as an addiction, friendship may actually be the most important loving relationship of your life. The Scientific American Book of Love, Sex, and the Brain offers a look at how the brain controls our loving relationships, most intimate moments, and our deep and basic need for connection. Horstman has been a Washington correspondent, a journalism professor, a Fulbright scholar, and has written and edited in diverse media including USA Today, Gannett News Service in Washington, and publications for Stanford, Harvard, and Johns Hopkins universities.