Oxytocin News and Research

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Oxytocin is a small but potent nine-amino acid hormone secreted within the brain, from the hypothalamus.

Previous trauma can affect patients during pregnancy, childbirth and after

Josie Granner, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, studies the childbearing year for new parents who are survivors of trauma and post-traumatic stress.

23 Nov 2021

Maternal exposure to flame retardants linked with ASD-relevant behavioral traits in offspring

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, are a class of fire-retardant chemicals that are ubiquitous. They are found on upholstery, carpets, curtains, electronics, and even infant products.

7 Nov 2021

Oxytocin does not appear to overcome social deficits in children with ASD, study suggests

Regular doses of the hormone oxytocin do not appear to overcome deficits in social functioning among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

13 Oct 2021

Mother's voice reduces signs of pain in premature infants

A baby born prematurely often has to be separated from its parents and placed in an incubator in intensive care.

27 Aug 2021

Study shows how experienced mouse mothers tutor virgin female mice on parenting

Watching a mother mouse gather her pups into the family's nest trains other female mice without pups to perform the same parenting task, a new study shows.

11 Aug 2021

Maternal and paternal behaviors in voles promoted by the exact same neural pathways

Like female voles, connections between oxytocin neurons in the hypothalamus and dopamine neurons in reward areas drive parental behaviors in male voles, according to new research published in JNeurosci.

2 Jul 2021

Study highlights the importance of sensory connections in fear learning

Has your heart ever started to race at the thought of an upcoming deadline for work? Or has the sight of an unknown object in a dark room made you jump? Well, you can probably thank your amygdala for that.

25 May 2021

Oxytocin-vasopressin circuit has distinct dynamics throughout embryonic development

The work, carried out by Pilar Madrigal and Sandra Jurado, from the UMH-CSIC Neurosciences Institute in Alicante, a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council and Miguel Hernández University, has been published in Communications Biology, a Nature group´s journal.

22 May 2021

Emotional support animals can provide quantifiable benefits to people with serious mental illness

A team led by a social work researcher at The University of Toledo has published the first empirical evidence that emotional support animals can provide quantifiable benefits to individuals with serious mental illness who are experiencing depression, anxiety and loneliness.

21 May 2021

Genetic mutation associated with autism can impair oxytocin-mediated social behavior

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition involving impaired social abilities, and this makes it a fascinating subject for neuroscientists like Prof. Teiichi Furuichi of the Tokyo University of Science who study the neuroscience of social behavior.

19 May 2021

Researchers apply 'kitchen sink approach' to produce 16 high-quality reference genomes

The flightless kakapo of New Zealand is in trouble. The world's heaviest parrot--representing one of the most ancestral branches of the parrot family tree--is nearly extinct, with barely 200 adults plodding the underbrush of four small islands.

29 Apr 2021

Researchers try to simplify gene nomenclature across various organisms

Constantina Theofanopoulou wanted to study oxytocin. Her graduate work had focused on how the hormone influences human speech development, and now she was preparing to use those findings to investigate how songbirds learn to sing. The problem was that birds do not have oxytocin. Or so she was told.

29 Apr 2021

Researchers propose a new universal nomenclature for vasotocin and oxytocin genes

Oxytocin and arginine vasopressin are two hormones in the endocrine system that can act as neurotransmitters and regulate -in vertebrates and invertebrates- a wide range of biological functions, such as bonding formation, breastfeeding, birth or arterial pressure.

29 Apr 2021

Discontinuation of oxytocin stimulation may lead to a small increase in cesarean section

A study published by The BMJ today sheds more light on the use of oxytocin (a hormone that stimulates contractions) during induced labor.

15 Apr 2021

Researchers awarded $2.7 million grant to investigate sex differences in social reward

Georgia State University researchers have been awarded a five-year, $2.7 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate how oxytocin and dopamine act in the reward circuits of the brain to make social interactions rewarding for males and females.

15 Apr 2021

Early exposure to smell can affect perception and social behavior later in life

Imprinting is a popularly known phenomenon, wherein certain animals and birds become fixated on sights and smells they see immediately after being born.

13 Apr 2021

Previously approved drugs starting points for COVID-19 therapeutics

Researchers in the United States have identified several clinically approved compounds that could be repurposed for the treatment and prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

11 Apr 2021

Unbalanced progesterone may cause preterm or prolonged labor in some pregnant women

New research by the National Institutes of Health found that unbalanced progesterone signals may cause some pregnant women to experience preterm labor or prolonged labor.

11 Mar 2021

Study: All monogamous mammals are not 'wired for love' in the same way

Humans aren't the only mammals that form long-term bonds with a single, special mate -- some bats, wolves, beavers, foxes and other animals do, too. But new research suggests the brain circuitry that makes love last in some species may not be the same in others.

13 Feb 2021

New strategy to optimize the efficacy of neuropeptides for therapeutic applications

Dimerization (Note: combination of two identical or different molecules) of the human neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin can produce new types of bioactive molecules.

10 Feb 2021

Oxytocin News and Research

Further Reading

Previous trauma can affect patients during pregnancy, childbirth and after

Maternal exposure to flame retardants linked with ASD-relevant behavioral traits in offspring

Oxytocin does not appear to overcome social deficits in children with ASD, study suggests

Mother's voice reduces signs of pain in premature infants

Study shows how experienced mouse mothers tutor virgin female mice on parenting

Maternal and paternal behaviors in voles promoted by the exact same neural pathways

Study highlights the importance of sensory connections in fear learning

Oxytocin-vasopressin circuit has distinct dynamics throughout embryonic development

Emotional support animals can provide quantifiable benefits to people with serious mental illness

Genetic mutation associated with autism can impair oxytocin-mediated social behavior

Researchers apply 'kitchen sink approach' to produce 16 high-quality reference genomes

Researchers try to simplify gene nomenclature across various organisms

Researchers propose a new universal nomenclature for vasotocin and oxytocin genes

Discontinuation of oxytocin stimulation may lead to a small increase in cesarean section

Researchers awarded $2.7 million grant to investigate sex differences in social reward

Early exposure to smell can affect perception and social behavior later in life

Previously approved drugs starting points for COVID-19 therapeutics

Unbalanced progesterone may cause preterm or prolonged labor in some pregnant women

Study: All monogamous mammals are not 'wired for love' in the same way

New strategy to optimize the efficacy of neuropeptides for therapeutic applications

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

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