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A hormone that enhances one's memory of happy faces
July 29, 2008Oxytocin 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 his colleagues sought to evaluate the effects of oxytocin on the encoding and recognition of faces in humans. They recruited healthy male volunteers and in a double-blind, randomized design, administered either oxytocin or a placebo. They then presented a series of happy, angry and neutral human faces to the volunteers on a computer screen. Participants returned the following day where they were presented with a collection of faces and asked to distinguish the new faces from ones that they saw on the prior day. The results revealed that those who received oxytocin were more likely to remember the happy faces they had seen previously, more so than the angry and neutral faces.
Dr. Guastella notes that the "findings are exciting because they show for the first time that oxytocin facilitates the encoding of positive social information over social information that is either neutral or negative." John H. Krystal, M.D., Editor of Biological Psychiatry and affiliated with both Yale University School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, comments on the findings: "The findings from Guastella and colleagues provide new evidence about a chemical system in the body that may help us to connect socially to other people. One could imagine that our ability to recall a particularly happy face at the end of a day full of social contacts could reflect an action of oxytocin."
Social isolation can be a feature of several psychiatric disorders. The success of oxytocin in enhancing positive social memories raises the possibility that oxytocin, or drugs that might act like oxytocin in the brain, could be used to help people who are socially isolated and have difficulty making social connections. Future research will be needed to test this hypothesis.
Elsevier
Social isolation can be a feature of several psychiatric disorders. The success of oxytocin in enhancing positive social memories raises the possibility that oxytocin, or drugs that might act like oxytocin in the brain, could be used to help people who are socially isolated and have difficulty making social connections. Future research will be needed to test this hypothesis.
Elsevier
Oxytocin Current Events and Oxytocin News RSSUnderstanding the have-knots: The role of stress in just about everything
Stress, to put it bluntly, is bad for you. It can kill you, in fact. A study now reveals that stress causes deterioration in everything from your gums to your heart and can make you more susceptible to everything from the common cold to cancer.
New paper on oxytocin reveals why we are generous
Neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak of Claremont Graduate University has new research, and a paper, "Oxytocin Increases Generosity in Humans," which will be published November 7, 2007 in PLoS ONE, the online, open-access journal from the Public Library of Science.
Level of Oxytocin in Pregnant Women Predicts Mother-Child Bond
Humans are hard-wired to form enduring bonds with others. One of the primary bonds across the mammalian species is the mother-infant bond. Evolutionarily speaking, it is in a mother's best interest to foster the well-being of her child; however, some mothers just seem a bit more maternal than others do. Now, new research points to a hormone that predicts the level of bonding between mother and child.
Study finds Viagra increases release of key reproductive hormone
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison report this month that sildenafil increases the amount of oxytocin released by stimulation of the posterior pituitary gland, a small structure directly underneath the brain that regulates hormone levels in response to neural signals.
Does a peptide affect the heart's response to social isolation?
A team of researchers investigating the effects of oxytocin, a peptide produced by the brain that regulates social behavior, has found that it can prevent detrimental cardiac responses in adult female animals exposed to social isolation. The findings may provide further insight into how these mechanisms affect humans.
Psychologist Says Neurochemical Processes Explain Romantic Attraction
The Beatles' George Harrison wondered in his famous love song about the 'something' that 'attracts me like no other lover.'
New research suggests oxytocin's potential for treatment of two core autism symptom domains
Preliminary new research discussed today at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology's Annual Meeting finds that oxytocin, when administered using intravenous fluid and nasal technology may have significant positive effects on adult autism patients.
Smoking, eating and thinking: New research on the brain, hormones, and behavior
Certain hormones may make it more difficult for some to quit smoking.
Neuroendocrinology Congress June 19—22 to report new research on brain, hormones, behavior
New clinical and basic science research findings focusing on the interaction between hormones and the brain and its influence on behavior will be presented for the first time at the 6th International Congress of Neuroendocrinology (ICN 2006) in Pittsburgh from June 19 to 22.
Popular pill for inducing labor found effective, but concerns remain
A popular anti-ulcer pill used around the world for inducing labor and preventing post-delivery bleeding appears to be as effective as more expensive drugs but still must be used with caution, according to an updated systematic review of studies.
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