Happy Oxytocin Day

Oxytocin is the hormone behind the ability that we have to love and be loved; it plays a huge role in bonding and attachment. 

This love hormone is formed in the hypothalamus!  It is released by the pituitary gland into the blood stream when neurons in the hypothalamus become excited as a result of experiencing stimuli from actions of human touch, cuddling, sexual activity, child birth, and breast feeding.  Oxytocin allows us to feel safe in our environment by reducing fear and anxiety, it also allows us to trust the individuals within our close nit community through empathy and cooperation.

During the evolution of placental mammalian, oxytocin was selected as an important component to the survival of our human species.  Oxytocin would help regulate behaviors in social contexts and allow individuals to bond with other individuals in the same group/tribe, but most importantly the mother needed to bond with offspring so that they were not abandoned.  Interestingly, one way in which bonding occurred, was through smell.  Oxytocin has been found to play a role in linking memories to the odor of individuals or the tribe/group/family as a whole; after experiencing a certain odor, the memories are accessed.  Breast-feeding did not only help raise healthy offspring, but it also seemed to have helped evolve the development of a more complexed and intelligent human brain.  Oxytocin has also been linked to emotion recognition, and has been shown to improve the ability for humans to recognize emotions in others; suggesting that oxytocin may have a relationship with neuronal activity of mirror neurons.  Recognizing emotions must have been important to our survival so that humans were able to recognize and emphasize with fear, stress, and illness.  But also, differentiate it from laughter as a result of satisfaction and happiness. Oxytocin not only impacts our present life, but it contributed towards our survival in many ways.

Additionally, oxytocin seems to be found in low quantities in individuals who have autism, schizophrenia, depression, and those who are considered to be sociopaths and psychopaths. It is believed that administering oxytocin can possibly help prevent or cure some of these mental disorders.

Citations:

Oxytocin for Autism and Social Anxiety. (2014, June 10). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://www.khemcorp.com/oxytocin-nasal-spray-autism-social-anxiety-summary/

Pedersen, C., Chang, S., & Williams, C. (2014). Evolutionary perspectives on the role of oxytocin in human social behavior, social cognition, and psychopathology. Brain Research, 1580(2014), 1-7. Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://changlab.net/papers/Pedersen_editorial_BR_2014.pdf

Hormones. (2013, March 11). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://www.yourhormones.info/hormones/oxytocin.aspx