Oxytocin

Oxytocin the so-called "love hormone" is being increasingly shown to trigger a wide variety of physical and psychological effects in both women and men. Oxytocin promotes monogamy by preventing men from "signaling romantic interest" to other women. Oxytocin is a hormone secreted by the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland, a pea-sized structure at the base of the brain.It's sometimes known as the "cuddle hormone" or the "love hormone," because it is released when people snuggle up or bond socially.

 

Oxytocin is a hormone that also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. Some popular media have incorrectly labeled it the “love hormone,” because it is associated with good feelings and emotions.

 

Oxytocins benefits are:

 

• Sexual arousal. Oxytocin injected into the cerebrospinal fluid causes spontaneous erections in rats, reflecting actions in the hypothalamus and spinal cord.5
• Bonding. In the Prairie Vole, oxytocin released into the brain of the female during sexual activity is important for forming a monogamous pair bond with her sexual partner. Vasopressin appears to have a similar effect in males. In people, plasma concentrations of oxytocin have been reported to be higher amongst people who claim to be falling in love. Oxytocin has a role in social behaviors in many species, and so it seems likely that it has similar roles in humans.6
• Autism. A 1998 study found significantly lower levels of oxytocin in blood plasma of autistic children.7 A 2003 study found a decrease in autism spectrum repetitive behaviors when oxytocin was administered intravenously.8 A 2007 study reported that oxytocin helped autistic adults retain the ability to evaluate the emotional significance of speech intonation.9
• Maternal behavior. Female sheep and rats given oxytocin antagonists after giving birth do not exhibit typical maternal behavior. By contrast, virgin female sheep show maternal behavior towards foreign lambs upon cerebrospinal fluid infusion of oxytocin, which they would not do otherwise.10
• Increasing trust and reducing fear. In a risky investment game, experimental subjects given nasally administered oxytocin displayed “the highest level of trust” twice as often as the control group. Subjects who were told that they were interacting with a computer showed no such reaction, leading to the conclusion that oxytocin was not merely affecting risk-aversion.11 Nasally administered oxytocin has also been reported to reduce fear, possibly by inhibiting the amygdala (which is thought to be responsible for fear responses).12 There is no conclusive evidence for access of oxytocin to the brain through intranasal administration, however.
• Affecting generosity by increasing empathy during perspective taking.In a neuroeconomics experiment, intranasal oxytocin increased generosity in the Ultimatum Game by 80% but has no effect in the Dictator Game that measures altruism. Perspective-taking is not required in the Dictator Game, but the researchers in this experimental explicitly induced perspective-taking in the Ultimatum Game by not identifying to participants which role they would be in.13
• Preparing fetal neurons for delivery. Crossing the placenta, maternal oxytocin reaches the fetal brain and induces a switch in the action of neurotransmitter GABA from excitatory to inhibitory on fetal cortical neurons. This silences the fetal brain for the period of delivery and reduces its vulnerability to hypoxic damage.14
• MDMA (ecstasy) may increase feelings of love, empathy and connection to others by stimulating oxytocin activity via activation of serotonin 5-HT1A receptors, if initial studies in animals apply to humans.

 

Hormonal Actions of Oxytocin

The actions of oxytocin are mediated by specific, high affinity oxytocin receptors. The peripheral actions of oxytocin mainly reflect secretion from the pituitary gland.

• Letdown reflex. In lactating (breastfeeding) mothers, oxytocin acts at the mammary glands, causing milk to be ‘let down’ into a collecting chamber, from where it can be extracted by compressing the areola and sucking at the nipple. Sucking by the infant at the nipple is relayed by spinal nerves to the hypothalamus. The stimulation causes neurons that make oxytocin to fire action potentials in intermittent bursts; these bursts result in the secretion of pulses of oxytocin from the neurosecretory nerve terminals of the pituitary gland.
• Uterine contractions. These are important for cervical dilation before birth and causes contractions during the second and third stages of labor. Oxytocin release during breastfeeding causes mild but often painful uterine contractions during the first few weeks of lactation. This also serves to assist the uterus in clotting the placental attachment point postpartum. However, in knockout mice lacking the oxytocin receptor, reproductive behavior and parturition is normal.

 

Dosage: 100mcg- 200mcg/daily