Oxytocin
hideOxytocin (pronounced /ˌɒksɨˈtoʊsɪn/) is a mammalian hormone that also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain.
It is best known for its roles in female reproduction: it is released in large amounts after distension of the cervix and vagina during labor, and after stimulation of the nipples, facilitating birth and breastfeeding, respectively. Recent studies have begun to investigate oxytocin's role in various behaviors, including orgasm, social recognition, pair bonding, anxiety, trust, love, and maternal behaviors.
For more information about Oxytocin, read the full article at
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News tagged with oxytocin
Study surprise yields new target for assessing genes linked to autism
Oct 21, 2009 |
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Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have uncovered a new genetic signature that correlates strongly with autism and which doesn't involve changes to the DNA sequence itself. Rather, the changes are in the way the ...
Hormone important in recognizing familiar faces
Jan 06, 2009 |
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Oxytocin, a hormone involved in child-birth and breast-feeding, helps people recognize familiar faces, according to new research in the January 7 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Study participants who had one dose o ...
Study links genetic variation to individual empathy, stress levels
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Researchers have discovered a genetic variation that may contribute to how empathetic a human is, and how that person reacts to stress. In the first study of its kind, a variation in the hormone/neurotransmitter oxytocin's ...
Researchers show early life nurturing impacts later life relationships
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Aug 31, 2009 |
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Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have demonstrated that prairie voles may be a useful model in understanding the neurochemistry of social behavior. By influencing early social ...
Scientists find a common link of bird flocks, breast milk and trust
Aug 13, 2009 |
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What do flocks of birds have in common with trust, monogamy, and even breast milk? According to a new report in the journal Science, they are regulated by virtually identical neurochemicals in the brain, known ...
Why dishing does you good: study
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Jun 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Why does dishing with a girlfriend do wonders for a woman's mood?
Enriched environment improves wound healing in rats
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
May 13, 2009 |
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Improving the environment in which rats are reared can significantly strengthen the physiological process of wound healing, according to a report in the online, open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE.
The secret life of frogs
Mar 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Notre Dame biologist Sunny Boyd's research is a little like "Match.com" for amphibians. Say you're a female tree frog looking for a mate--how do you choose among a number of ...
New research finds breastfeeding stops neglect
Jan 26, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When a mother breastfeeds she is essentially protecting her child from herself, according to UQ researcher and developmental paediatrician, Dr Lane Strathearn.
The narrow line between love and jealousy
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 12, 2009 |
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A new study carried out at the University of Haifa has found that the hormone oxytocin, the "love hormone", which affects behaviors such as trust, empathy and generosity, also affects opposite behaviors, such as jealousy ...
Oxytocin: Love potion #1?
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Apr 29, 2009 |
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Relationships are difficult and most of us probably think at some point that communicating positively with our partner when discussing stressful issues, like home finances, is an impossible task. What if there was a safe ...
