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.

Maintaining healthy sex life could boost job satisfaction and engagement at work, study finds

Maintaining a healthy sex life at home boosts employees' job satisfaction and engagement at the office, underscoring the value of a strong work-life balance, an Oregon State University researcher has found.

6 Mar 2017

Brain scans reveal link between oxytocin and paternal caregiving in fathers

Fathers given boosts of the hormone oxytocin show increased activity in brain regions associated with reward and empathy when viewing photos of their toddlers, an Emory University study finds.

17 Feb 2017

‘Love hormone’ from insects could be used as drug lead to prevent uterine contractility in preterm labour

In a recent study published in "Scientific Reports", an international team of researchers led by MedUni Vienna report that an oxytocin-like neuropeptide ("inotocin") exhibited a specific pharmacological profile for the human receptors of oxytocin (known as the "love hormone") and vasopressin.

1 Feb 2017

Mount Sinai study characterizes genetically modified rat model of autism and intellectual disability

Researchers at The Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai have generated and characterized a genetically modified rat model of autism and intellectual disability, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published January 31 in the journal eLife.

31 Jan 2017

Oxytocin levels affect synchronization in leader/follower relationship

When standing in a crowd at a concert, clapping hands along with the music on stage, it may be that people with higher levels of oxytocin are better synchronised with the beat of the music than those with lower levels of oxytocin.

9 Dec 2016

New Penn research shows optimal available method for inducing labor in pregnant women

Labor induction is one of the most common medical procedures in the world, with nearly one-quarter of women who deliver in the U.S. undergoing the procedure each year.

5 Dec 2016

BIDMC researchers discover neural circuitry that plays role in promoting satiety

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center researchers have identified previously unknown neural circuitry that plays a role in promoting satiety, the feeling of having had enough to eat.

22 Nov 2016

Content of ‘love hormone’ in blood plasma 100 times higher than previously thought

Scientists at the University of Oslo have shown that the content of the "love hormone" oxytocin in blood plasma and serum is about 100 times higher than previously thought.

7 Nov 2016

People with reduced oxytocin levels perform worse on empathy tasks, new research shows

People suffering medical conditions causing low levels of oxytocin perform worse on empathy tasks, according to new research presented today at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Brighton.

7 Nov 2016

Women more likely to convert from laughing gas to epidural for pain relief during labor

The majority of women who chose nitrous oxide (laughing gas) to manage labor pain, ultimately decide to have an epidural, according to new research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2016 annual meeting.

25 Oct 2016

New research shows oxytocin may increase sense of spirituality

Oxytocin has been dubbed the "love hormone" for its role promoting social bonding, altruism and more. Now new research from Duke University suggests the hormone may also support spirituality.

4 Oct 2016

Tendency to feel lonely linked partially to genetic traits

Loneliness is linked to poor physical and mental health, and is an even more accurate predictor of early death than obesity.

20 Sep 2016

Yale scientists provide new insights into evolutionary origin of female orgasm

Female orgasm seems to be a happy afterthought of our evolutionary past when it helped stimulate ovulation, a new study of mammals shows.

1 Aug 2016

Researchers investigate role of OXTR gene in binge eating

A study by York University researcher Caroline Davis and her colleagues at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is the first to demonstrate that variants of the Oxytocin Receptor gene contribute to why some of us overeat or engage in episodes of binge eating.

13 Jul 2016

Absence of one specific species of gut bacteria causes autism-related social deficits in mice

The absence of one specific species of gut bacteria causes social deficits in mice, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine report June 16 in Cell. By adding this bacterial species back to the guts of affected mice, the researchers were able to reverse some of the mice's behavioral deficits, which are reminiscent of symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in humans.

17 Jun 2016

Creative art making can help reduce stress

Whether you're Van Gogh or a stick-figure sketcher, a new Drexel University study found that making art can significantly reduce stress-related hormones in your body.

16 Jun 2016

Oxytocin hormone plays role in facilitating perception of emotions

Studies have demonstrated that oxytocin (which acts as an hormone and also as a neurotransmitter in the brain) plays a role in facilitating the perception of emotions in other people's facial expressions.

14 Jun 2016

Maternal stress, depression during pregnancy may activate protective mechanisms in infants

Maternal stress and depression during pregnancy may activate certain protective mechanisms in babies. Psychologists from the University of Basel together with international colleagues report that certain epigenetic adaptations in newborns suggest this conclusion.

13 May 2016

New study shows women susceptible to pain-relieving placebo effect of vasopressin

A new study in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry suggests that women are particularly susceptible to the pain-relieving placebo effect of vasopressin.

3 May 2016

Higher oxytocin in pregnancy predicts severity of postpartum depression symptoms

Higher oxytocin levels in the third trimester of pregnancy predicts the severity of postpartum depression symptoms in women who previously suffered from depression, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

23 Mar 2016