Tag Archives: Oxytocin

Summary: Researchers developed a fully automated cooperation task showing that rats engage in true reciprocity, not just mutual benefit. Social interaction enhanced success, while dampened interaction reduced cooperative performance. The experience of reciprocity also increased empathy, as rats displayed stronger emotional responses to partners’ distress. Crucially, oxytocin release in the orbitofrontal cortex underpinned both fair cooperation and empathy, pointing to …

Summary: New research on prairie voles shows that while oxytocin is not strictly necessary for friendship, it plays a vital role in quickly forming and maintaining strong social bonds. Voles lacking oxytocin receptors took up to a week to develop preferences for peers that normal voles formed in a day, and they often failed to prioritize known companions in group …

Scientists observe synchronized oxytocin in couples after sex  PsyPost Source link

Summary: New research suggests oxytocin, the so-called “love hormone,” may help protect women from mood disturbances caused by sleep disruption and hormonal changes during postpartum and menopause. In a controlled study, women with higher oxytocin levels before sleep fragmentation reported fewer mood symptoms the following day. Sleep interruptions were shown to significantly increase both mood disturbance and oxytocin, indicating a …