Oxytocin - How the Cuddle Hormone Can Improve your Relationship

Scientists have long been intrigued by the biological basis of human attachments and one area which seems to be holding out great promise is the role played by the hormone oxytocin. Best known for its action in female reproduction among mammals, some researchers believe that it could also influence emotional bonding and healthy interpersonal relationships among humans.

About Oxytocin

Also known as alpha-hypophamine, oxytocin is a short polypeptide hormone which is released from the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland in the human brain. The chief function of the hormone is to act as a neurotransmitter in the brain.

How Oxytocin works

The action of oxytocin can be divided into one, peripheral actions which influence hormones in the body and two, actions in the brain. The peripheral actions of oxytocin include initiation of uterine contractions among pregnant women which in turn facilitates the birthing process. Also, oxytocin also stimulates the let-down reflex in lactating mothers which again facilitates breastfeeding.

However the actions of oxytocin in the brain which are believed to play a crucial role in building relationships are only now being given greater attention. Several studies point towards the relation between oxytocin and sexual arousal among both men and women on grounds that sexual orgasm and increased levels of oxytocin in the body seem to go hand in hand. One of these studies conducted by W. Blaicher et al in 1999, titled "The role of oxytocin in relation to female sexual arousal" and published in Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation 47 (2) suggested that oxytocin serves an important role in sexual arousal.

Among other effects of oxytocin that researches are still exploring is its effect on reducing fear and increasing trust. In a 2005 study conducted by M. Kosfeld et al and titled "Oxytocin increases trust in humans" in Nature 435 (7042), experimental subjects were nasally administered oxytocin and then exposed to a risky investment game. The researchers concluded that the subjects showed twice as much the level of trust as the control group. Another study titled "Oxytocin modulates neural circuitry for social cognition and fear in humans", published in The Journal of Neuroscience 25 (49) by authors P Kirsch et al found that nasally administered oxytocin among humans also inhibited fear perhaps by suppressing the amygdalae or the parts of the brain believed to be responsible for fear responses.

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The role of oxytocin in improving social bonding among humans are still being carried out but some preliminary studies have suggested that nasal administration of oxytocin may lead to greater levels of generosity and empathy among humans. However researchers are still undecided about which aspect of empathy, emotional or cognitive, the hormone might influence. Anyhow there have been well-documented instances of oxytocin improving bonding among other mammals like the formation of adult-pair bonds in voles, facilitating nest-building and pup retrieval in rats and acceptance of offspring in sheep.

Yet another preliminary study carried out by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and published in the July 1999 issue of Psychiatry suggests that oxytocin may be associated with the ability to maintain fulfilling interpersonal relationships and healthy psychological boundaries among humans. In the study, lead researcher Rebecca Turner, UCSF adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry, and her team tested the hypothesis that the hormone oxytocin is released in response to extreme emotional states together with some physical cues. For this purpose twenty-six non-lactating women within 23 to 35 years of age were asked to recall a past relationship event that caused them to feel a positive emotion like love as well as a negative emotion like loss or abandonment. The subjects were given a 15-minute Swedish massage on the neck and shoulders since earlier studies on rats had shown that physical stimulation also influenced oxytocin levels. Samples of blood from the subjects were taken before, during and after the experiment to measure oxytocin levels in the women’s bodies.  The results showed that while relaxation massages caused oxytocin levels to rise slightly, recalling negative experiences caused them to fall. Even though reminiscences of positive experience had no significant rise in oxytocin levels on an average, Turner concludes that having the hormone “available” during positive relationship experiences and not lacking it during negative ones is associated with well-being in relationships. Interestingly women who were already in committed relationships showed greater levels of oxytocin while reacting to positive emotions as compared to single women. This may in turn indicate that the kind of relationship a woman has also influences the responsiveness of the hormone.

Applications of Oxytocin

Because of its wide-ranging effects on the hormonal and behavioral activity among humans, oxytocin is  allowed to be manufactured synthetically which is sold as proprietary medicine under trade names like Pitocin and Sintocinon. Since oxytocin is destroyed in the gastrointestinal tract, it is primarily given in the form of nasal sprays or injections. As yet the chief applications of this hormone are to induce labor among pregnant women or support labor in cases of non-progress of parturition. Oxytocin nasal sprays are sometimes prescribed to initiate breastfeeding among women but doctors are not unanimous in this approach. Even though in veterinary medicine, oxytocin injections are sometimes given to facilitate milk flow among cows and buffaloes, the mistaken notion that it increases milk production has led to the abuse of this drug in the dairy industry in many parts of the world.

The role of oxytocin in the inhibition of fear and anxiety as well as increase in levels of trust among humans has opened the possibility of the hormone’s application in behavioral modification. Individuals suffering from depression, social anxieties and interpersonal stress may theoretically at least benefit from application of oxytocin. However the hormone’s trust-inducing property may be misused at the same time and lead to abuse of individuals in military applications or confidence tricks.

Known as the ‘cuddle hormone’ for its role in pair and maternal bonding, oxytocin has great potential in the improvement of interpersonal relationships. However, a greater number of impartial and transparent studies are needed to assess the safety and efficacy of the hormone before it can be  routinely applied by humans to better their love lives.