Latest oxytocin Stories

Oxytocin was originally studied as the "milk let-down factor," i.e., a hormone that was necessary for breast-feeding. However, there is increasing evidence that this hormone also plays an important role in social bonding and maternal behaviors. A new study scheduled for publication in the August 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry now shows that one way oxytocin promotes social affiliation in humans is by enhancing the encoding of positive social memories.Adam J. Guastella, Ph.D. and...

By Dan Roberts Making love doesn't just help you feel good. It also burns calories, boosts your immune system - and can even reduce the risk of cancer. By Dan Roberts IMPROVES SELF-ESTEEM AND MENTAL HEALTH Boosting self-esteem was one of the 237 reasons people have sex, according to a study conducted last year by researchers from the University of Texas and published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. This is no surprise to Julia Cole, author of How to Have Great Sex for the Rest of Your...

The brain centers triggered by a betrayal of trust have been identified by researchers, who found they could suppress such triggering and maintain trust by administering the brain chemical oxytocin. The researchers said their findings not only offer basic insights into the neural machinery underlying trust; the results may also help in understanding the neural basis of social disorders such as phobias and autism.Thomas Baumgartner and colleagues published their findings in the May 22, 2008,...

A recent study found that many doctors are reluctant to embrace cutting edge medicine unless they receive a little peer pressure from their colleagues.The study looked at 19 maternity hospitals in Argentina and Uruguay to determine the best way to encourage doctors to embrace change that suggests the old ways may not be the best.Found in the New England Journal of History, the study looked at the time it took obstetricians to discontinue their use of episiotomies to widen the vaginal opening...

By Anastasia Stephens On the sheepskin rug, in front of the fire, a dozen or so bodies are lying in spoons, or face to face, or in any position that helps you to hug someone. There's some stroking and laughter, a few contented sighs. Apart from a little gentle repositioning and head- stroking, not much is happening. In fact, inaction is the flavour of the afternoon. I'm being spooned by Jason, a photographer, while nestling my head and neck in the armpit of a woman. Three arms are wrapped...

NEW YORK -- If labor needs to be induced in pregnant women, it's better to do it in the morning rather than in the evening, a study shows. Inducing labor in the morning is associated with fewer complications, according to the study conducted in Australia and reported in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.Dr. Jodie M. Dodd of the University of Adelaide and her associates hypothesized that inducing labor in the morning is more reflective of the natural timing of labor onset, resulting in...

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science CorrespondentWASHINGTON -- A little squirt of a hormone that relaxes women during childbirth and breastfeeding helped lower stress in both men and women who were quarreling, a researcher reported on Tuesday.Levels of a stress hormone called cortisol dropped significantly in the men and women given oxytocin, Beate Ditzen, a psychologist at Emory University in Atlanta, told the International Congress of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A nasal spray containing the hormone oxytocin, which is essential to the production and flow of breast milk, does not improve milk output in mothers expressing milk for preterm infants, a study shows. "Mothers may experience difficulties in expressing breast milk for infants too immature or sick to breast feed," Dr. M.S. Fewtrell, of the Institute of Child Health in London, and colleagues explain. "Oxytocin has been used to assist breast feeding and milk...

LONDON (Reuters) - Forget pretending you are talking to one person or concentrating on a single point in the audience -- having sex is good way to calm nerves before giving a speech or presentation.But Stuart Brody, a psychologist at the University of Paisley in Scotland, said it has to be full sexual intercourse to get the best results.He studied nearly 50 men and women who recorded their sexual activities for two weeks and analyzed its impact on their blood pressure levels when under acute...

LONDON (Reuters) - Forget pretending you are talking to one person or concentrating on a single point in the audience -- having sex is good way to calm nerves before giving a speech or presentation.But Stuart Brody, a psychologist at the University of Paisley in Scotland, said it has to be full sexual intercourse to get the best results.He studied nearly 50 men and women who recorded their sexual activities for two weeks and analyzed its impact on their blood pressure levels when under acute...