woman keeps home: extinguishes emerging conflicts and radiates benevolence and peace. A man guards the hearth, not letting hostile and simply strangers into the family circle. These traditional patterns of behavior have endured for several millennia because they rely on physiological differences between the sexes. And an important role in these differences is played by the hormone oxytocin, which enhances female goodwill and male aggressiveness.

Goodwill hormone

The neuropeptide oxytocin is synthesized in the hypothalamus and secreted in the posterior pituitary gland, from where it enters the bloodstream. It is present in the body of both men and women and performs various functions, but is known mainly as the hormone of motherhood. Oxytocin regulates the contraction of the uterus, the secretion of milk from the mammary gland (but not its synthesis), and also determines maternal behavior. Subsequently, scientists found that in female mammals, oxytocin also affects other aspects of social behavior. So, elevated level This neuropeptide encourages them to take care of other people's cubs if necessary, enhances fidelity to a partner if the species is monogamous, helps to remember the smells of other animals, which makes it easier to recognize them. Oxytocin also calms the animals, making them less anxious. In general, along with the sex steroid hormones testosterone and estradiol, oxytocin turned out to be one of the main hormones that regulate the social life of animals. Basically, it enhances affiliative behavior, that is, contributing to the maintenance and strengthening of friendships.

Naturally, the more it became known about the psychotropic functions of oxytocin in animals, the more actively neurologists, psychologists, and psychiatrists became interested in its effect on human behavior, and in the last decade, many works have appeared devoted to this problem.

Humans are, for obvious reasons, more difficult to experiment with. As a rule, researchers carefully select participants in the experiment. They do not suffer from mental and nervous disorders, do not take drugs, women are not pregnant and do not use hormonal contraceptives. The test subjects are instilled into the nose with a solution of oxytocin or a placebo, and after 45 minutes they begin experiments.

Scientists have tried to consider a more natural situation. Married couples discussed some pre-selected family problem for ten minutes, not for free, of course. Those who had previously taken oxytocin found it easier to come to an agreement. It also helps fathers connect with young children, promotes facial recognition and helps to correctly interpret their expressions.

In human relationships, non-verbal stimuli are extremely important: gestures and facial expressions. Oxytocin helps to recognize their meaning, but its action is gender-specific. Psychologists from the University of Haifa set up a curious experiment ( , 2013, 8, 313–317, doi:10.1093/scan/nsr100). The subjects were shown short scenes filmed in real life, after which they had to answer what the true relationship is between the talking relatives, what stage of the relationship the couple is in, or which of the two candidates won the contest. To cope with the task, it was necessary to take into account not only words, but also facial expressions and gestures. It turned out that a single dose of oxytocin helps people understand interpersonal relationships, but women better comprehend relationships between relatives, and men - between competitors. As for couples in love, oxytocin did not help anyone here. This result surprised the researchers, and they suggested that this category of relationships is too complicated.

Critical Attitude Hormone

Initially, men and women faced different evolutionary tasks. Women strengthened family ties and their position in the group, as they needed to create a friendly environment for raising children. Men, on the other hand, reflected external aggression, and their main attention in the field of interpersonal relations is drawn to possible aggressors and competitors, to whom they initially treat with distrust. In an attempt to explain gender differences, scientists have suggested that oxytocin helps people feel other people's emotions, but at the same time, each gender excels in its traditional area: women - in the field of family relations and men are competitive.

These differences were fully manifested in experiments conducted by experts at Harvard Medical School and other medical research centers in Boston ( Human Psychopharmacology Clinical and Experimental, 2014, 29, 299–304, doi:10.1002/hup.2402). Forty-seven adults of both sexes were shown faces with a neutral expression and asked to rate their reliability, competence, and friendliness. Men under the influence of oxytocin reacted to these faces worse than when they took placebo, while women, on the contrary, found them more reliable and friendly.

In the second series of tasks, participants were asked to rate faces accompanied by some information: positive, negative, or neutral. In this way, they modeled the gossip that actively circulates in any society and affects relationships between people. Oxytocin did not add goodwill to men. Additional negative information only exacerbated their distrust, while positive information did little to help. And in this case, the women also showed unshakable friendliness, oxytocin softened even the influence of evil gossip.

American scientists, like psychologists from Haifa and many other researchers of oxytocin, came to the conclusion that this neuropeptide enhances the social characteristics inherent in one sex or another: female benevolence and some aggressiveness, criticality and mistrust in men. These differences must have some material basis.

Left amygdala and sex hormones

Oxytocin influences autonomic activity in different ways. nervous system. In women who took it, during a showdown with a partner, the secretion of the alpha-amylase enzyme in the salivary glands is reduced, while in men it is higher in this situation than in the placebo group ( Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2013, 8, 897–902). The secretion of alpha-amylase is under the control of the sympathetic nervous system and serves as an indicator of its activity. Therefore, oxytocin inhibits the activity of the sympathetic nervous system in women and increases it in men.

Oxytocin also acts on the central nervous system (CNS), receptors for it are located in some parts of the hypothalamus, amygdala (tonsils) and in the dorsal horns of the spinal cord. Scientists from the University of Louis Pasteur, using autoradiography methods, counted the number of oxytocin binding sites in male and female rats of different ages ( neuroscience, 2005, 135, 147–154, doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.05.025). In males, the density of these sites is higher than in females, but only in those areas of the brain that are sensitive to sex steroid hormones, that is, they have receptors for them. If a male rat is castrated at a young age, testosterone levels in his body will be significantly reduced, which will affect the number of oxytocin binding sites in the brain, but not in the spinal cord. Moreover, in females who were injected with testosterone the day after birth, the density of oxytocin receptors in the corresponding parts of the hypothalamus and amygdala increases significantly.

In humans, the interaction of oxytocin with the amygdala also depends on gender. Functions of this department brain are diverse, including they are responsible for our emotions and perception of social information. Researchers at the University of Freiburg, Germany, injected subjects with oxytocin and showed pictures of angry and happy faces; in women, amygdala neurons were more active than in the placebo group, and in men their activity decreased ( Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2010, 35, 83–93, doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.06.016). The researchers noted that the effect did not depend on the level of oxytocin in plasma, as well as on the content of the female sex hormones estradiol and progesterone. They concluded that oxytocin reduces the reactivity of the male amygdala to emotional and social stimuli.

Explain the mechanism of action of oxytocin on social behavior men and women were also tested by scientists from the China University of Electronics and Technology in Chengdu and Sichuan University with the participation of colleagues from the University of Bonn ( Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016, 113, 7650–7654, doi:10.1073/pnas.1602620113). The experiments involved 37 men and women each, who were instilled with oxytocin or a placebo, and then showed images of faces with a neutral expression or objects (which, the article does not say). The images were shown sometimes without a caption, sometimes with captions: laudatory, abusive, or both alternately. After looking at faces and objects, the subjects had to evaluate what was shown on an eight-point scale ( 1 = I don't like this person/object, 8 = I like it). During the performance of tasks, the active parts of the brain were determined by the method of functional magnetic resonance imaging in the subjects.

As expected, images with negative characteristics received the lowest scores, while images with positive characteristics received the highest (praise). Women under the influence of oxytocin like faces that receive praise even more than placebo controls, and the hormone has little to no effect on negative ratings. Men, on the other hand, are motivated by oxytocin to speak even worse of those who are characterized badly, while they do not begin to think better about personalities with positive characteristics.

In the process of approval / condemnation, the left amygdala (there are two of them in the brain, one in each hemisphere) is activated, apparently, it is she who is responsible for the critical evaluation of other people. Oxytocin increases left amygdala activity in men who judge people with poor performance and women who give praise to the worthy. On the contrary, in men who praise and women who condemn, oxytocin suppresses the activity of the left amygdala.

The left amygdala interacts with another part of the brain - the island of the right hemisphere. Oxytocin enhances this interaction in critical men, but weakens it in praising women. All these patterns are valid when the participants in the experiment evaluate faces, but not objects. Apparently, oxytocin affects the left amygdala only when assessing social characteristics.

Chinese researchers believe that oxytocin, as they expected, affects people's social behavior by interacting with the left amygdala. Under the influence of oxytocin, a woman focuses on positive qualities the people around her, tries to reconcile everyone, get along with everyone and think well of everyone. Then they will love her, and, most importantly, the children will not be offended. Men have different tasks, they drive away all suspicious personalities from the family group, and getting along with them themselves is a woman's business. Thus, oxytocin, acting on women and men in the opposite way, serves one purpose - to create a social environment that is optimal for the birth and upbringing of children, and it can rightly be called the hormone of family relationships.

All this is very interesting, if this is the case. And there is no complete certainty about this until scientists know to what extent the instillation of oxytocin is comparable to its release in vivo and how it is distributed in the body.

The “oxytocin effect” has another important consequence. Oxytocin is used to treat various mental disorders, including autism. If its effect on women and men is different, then the effectiveness of treatment will also differ, so doctors have something to think about.

The hormone oxytocin is not yet fully understood.

However, its relationship and a huge impact on the psycho-emotional sphere of a person has been confirmed.

In addition to influencing emotions, it plays one of the key roles in the process of delivery - when the hormone oxytocin is produced in insufficient concentrations, there is a weakness in labor activity due to weak uterine contractions.

The hormone is considered necessary exclusively for the female body, since without it there is no contraction of the muscles of the uterus, but the production of oxytocin also occurs in male body.

The question arises - what is it, oxytocin, why is it called the "attachment hormone" and why should it be produced in men, and not just women?

Oxytocin is a biologically active enzyme produced in the hypothalamus, one of the segments of the brain responsible for performance endocrine system in general and the gonads in particular.

After the hormone has been produced, it is transferred to the pituitary gland, from which it enters directly into the blood.

Through the bloodstream, the enzyme is distributed throughout the body and is able to fulfill its own purpose.

Oxytocin, the hormone of love, can be characterized as follows, briefly listing all its main features:

1. The “hormone of happiness” from a chemical point of view is nonapeptide- a substance of protein nature, which consists of 9 amino acids.
2. On the biological side, it refers to neuropeptides- The functions of oxytocin lie not only in the hormonal sphere of the body, but it also acts as a brain neurotransmitter.
3. The Russian name for the hormone is oxytocin.
4. The accepted international name is oxytocin.
5. The Latin name sounds a little different - oxytocinum, substances of the oxytocin group.
6. The oxytocin gross formula of a substance looks like this: C 43 H 66 N 12 O 12 S 2 .
7. From a pharmacological point of view, the substance belongs to such groups: hormones of the pituitary gland, hypothalamus, gonadotropins, gonadotropin antagonists. Oxytocin is a uterotonic.

The female body needs oxytocin to a greater extent than the male body. It not only provides the very possibility of delivery, but is also responsible for the possibility of stopping postpartum hemorrhage.

When its concentrations are too low, for a woman in the early postpartum period and after some surgical interventions in the structures of the uterus, there is a high probability of death due to massive blood loss.

Interesting!

A neurotransmitter is a substance that is an intermediary that transmits impulses both between the cells of the nervous system and from the cells of the nervous system to the executor cells.

Hormone production

Scientists have recorded the dependence of the intensity of hormone production on external factors of the psycho-emotional sphere of a person.

There was an "explosion" of his production, when a person dear to him touched.

In addition, according to studies, the following factors and effects on the patient can increase the level of blood oxytocin:

1. Games with children.
2. Any contact with a loved one.
3. Joint pastime with a pleasant interlocutor.

Negative factors that can affect the amount of the hormone in the blood and reduce its production are mainly represented by stressful situations.

In addition, the concentration of the enzyme in the blood and its synthesis are reduced by drinks containing in their own composition.

Concentration

Oxytocin is contained in the body in approximately the same concentrations throughout the entire period of life. However, there are some minor daily fluctuations in its amount.

The emotional background of a person depends on the ratio of certain hormones.

It is believed that it is oxytocin that causes love.

Interesting!

It has also been proven that high concentrations of the described hormone increase a man's desire to start a family and become a guarantor of fidelity to one sexual partner.

The highest level of this enzyme is in night time.

Similarly, it is explained that most training and true contractions during pregnancy occur at night.

Mechanism of influence

The hormone affects the functions of many body systems, ensuring their performance at the level required at a particular time.

Its most notable responsibilities are as follows:

1. provokes contractile activity of smooth muscles participation in labor and gastrointestinal processes.
2. Together with prolactin leads the process of formation of milk and colostrum in the glands.
3. Provides the formation of emotional dependence on a particular sexual partner.
4. An increase in the level of hormone production contributes to gaining a man of peace of mind.
5. prolongs youthfulness of the body's muscle fibers and accelerates regenerative abilities of the body.

Love and trust are not the only psycho-emotional nuances that the enzyme affects the formation of.

Psycho-emotional component of the hormone

Oxytocin is delivered into the bloodstream and causes the classic reactions of the body.

However, it is also supplied to some parts of the brain, where its action is represented by the following effects:

1. influences on the emotional component of a person with positive side.
2. Provides psychological stability.
3. Participates in cognitive functions - memorization, speech, intelligence level and others.
4. Regulates high mental orders - determines the social behavior of a person.

In addition to these effects, it has been determined that oxytocin concentrations are responsible for the openness of a person and increase the degree of his altruism.

However, it also leads to some negative manifestations, for example, a person becomes ready to do a lot for the benefit of dear people, without any doubts about the correctness of his own act.

Negative Effects

From a physiological point of view, elevated concentrations of oxytocin can be quite dangerous.

During the gestation period, excessive production of the hormone can drive to spontaneous abortions and run the process of delivery earlier than necessary, provoking premature birth.

In rare situations, it can become cause retention of fluids in the body and lead to violations of the water-salt balance, reducing the level of potassium in the blood.

Elevated concentrations of oxytocin have conflicting effects on memory ability.

Learning and memory are declining however, this is attributed to the body's defense mechanisms so that the woman in labor does not remember the pain of childbirth.

But social interactions and everything that can have a direct connection with them, on the contrary, is deposited in memory extremely firmly.

Since oxytocin is responsible for attachment, even when a couple breaks up, in which one of the partners has a strong attachment to the other, mental pain is experienced.

A similar manifestation is also the effect of the hormone.

Synthetic oxytocin

Like many other compounds that are produced by the body, it was possible to create oxytocin artificially and make medications based on it.

Interesting!

Previously, before the development of the oxytocin formula, the substance was also used in pharmacology.

However, a natural equivalent was used, the source of which was cattle.

The most common use of an artificial hormone is, in case of failure or the need for premature delivery.

It is also used to speed up the rehabilitation period after a caesarean section.

However, synthesized oxytocin can be harmful to the body, since a long period of its use can suppress the production of a natural substance.

Use of synthetic oxytocin

Enters the body by intravenous or intramuscular injection. In rare cases, it is administered subcutaneously.

The injection method is due to the fact that it is quickly destroyed under the influence of gastric juice and is not able to exert the effect of the required intensity.

It is used for gynecological purposes, as it can effectively stop bleeding, eliminate primary and secondary weakness of labor activity.

However, its use is possible only in a hospital under constant monitoring of the condition of the woman and the fetus (during pregnancy).

Monitoring the condition consists in fixing the frequency of uterine contractions and the frequency of the fetal heartbeat.

Direct medical indications are a necessity due to the following points:

1. An excessive dose of the drug can lead to ruptures of the smooth muscles of the uterus due to overvoltage, especially if there are scars on it.
2. If it is impossible to open the cervix and other direct indications for caesarean section.
3. In situations where excessively active labor activity can be harmful to the health of the fetus, for example, cord entanglement.

At the request of the woman in labor, the drug is not administered, as it can cause a number of negative physiological reactions and has contraindications, the neglect of which exposes the life of a woman and a child to unreasonable danger.

Oxytocin is the happiness hormone. This substance can be produced in both the female and male body. It is produced by the hypothalamus and subsequently transported to the posterior pituitary gland. In the latter, it accumulates, after which it is released into the blood. This substance is characterized by an oligopeptide structure.

The hormone produced by the hypothalamus affects the physiology of a person and his psychological state. The extremely important substance oxytocin, whose functions are considered to increase the feeling of tenderness in a person, also plays the following role:

• emotional attachment. People who have a high concentration of this hormone in the blood are more dependent on their partner, they need it. Oxytocin is a kind of love hormone;
• strengthening emotional connection. An increased level contributes to a deeper connection in the relationship between partners, mother and child;

• stress reduction. The body's production of a sufficient amount of this substance reduces the level of anxiety, eliminates fear, anxiety and other negative factors;
• enhancing emotional memory. When exposed to this hormone, a person has more vivid memories of a particular person. They can have both positive and negative connotations;
• ensuring labor activity, excretion of breast milk. The peak production of oxytocin by the body occurs during childbirth. It stimulates the contraction of the uterus and facilitates the passage of the child through the birth canal. Also, its presence in the blood is important even after the birth of a child. The hormone prevents stagnation in the uterus, stimulates the production of milk;

• increased sexual arousal. The presence of a sufficient amount of the hormone in the blood increases the desire between partners. It can rise significantly during hugs, kisses and other bodily contact;
• drug addiction prevention. Sufficient production of oxytocin significantly reduces cravings for cocaine, alcohol, and other opiates. It can also be used to suppress the unpleasant symptoms that occur when drug withdrawal (abstinence);
• the presence of a sufficient amount of oxytocin in the blood in men or women allows them to adapt in society. Therefore, drugs with its content are actively used in the treatment of autism. It allows you to reduce the fear of patients before society and allows you to establish communication with others to a minimum extent;

• the hormone oxytocin activates protective functions. This appears as the appearance of aggression to a stimulus in response to the presence of a danger to a certain person or his social group;
• this substance produces a calming effect, promotes sound sleep;
• the hormone stimulates generosity in a person.

Uses of Oxytocin

When using this hormone, it has the following effect:

• stimulates the contraction of the walls of the uterus;
• promotes the reduction of cells that are located near the alveoli of the mammary glands. This promotes the passage of milk through the ducts;
• reduces urination;
• when administered quickly, it relaxes the muscles of the vessels, which leads to a decrease in pressure and an increase in heart rate.

Indications for use for women

This hormone is indicated for use in the following problems that are observed in women:

• stimulation of labor activity in the presence of strict indications;
• during a caesarean section;
• loss of uterine tone or bleeding due to such a problem;
• insufficient degree of uterine involution after childbirth;
• the absence of postpartum discharge (lochia) or their small amount.

Mode of application

It is possible to increase the level of oxytocin in the body of a woman or a man by administering a special preparation intramuscularly or intravenously. It is very rarely used subcutaneously and never taken by mouth. This substance is rapidly destroyed by the action of gastric juice. It is preferable to choose the intramuscular route of administration. If the desired result is not observed after the injection, the drug is used intravenously. The main condition is to introduce a hormone-containing agent at a slow pace.

The first allowable dose of the drug is 1-3 IU. During a caesarean section, Oxytocin is injected directly into the uterus in an amount of 5 IU. In the presence of other indications, the drug is used subcutaneously or intramuscularly at a dose of 5-10 IU.

You can store it only in a cool place (list B). It must be protected from sunlight.

Use during childbirth

The release of oxytocin in women during childbirth occurs naturally. A significant increase in its concentration in the blood causes this process.

It is necessary to artificially increase the amount of this hormone in the blood when there is a need for accelerated delivery through the birth canal. This factor appears when there is high risk complications for both mother and child if this process is delayed.

Often such female hormone indicated for premature rupture amniotic fluid if there are no natural contractions or their intensity is insufficient. In this case, the baby should be born within 12 hours. Otherwise, the risk of infection of the uterus increases significantly and a negative effect on the fetus is observed.

Women should take such a drug if they have a diagnosis of “late preeclampsia”. It is accompanied by the formation of edema, the appearance of protein in the urine and a significant increase in blood pressure. This condition is very dangerous not only for the life and health of the mother, but also for the child. Also, this tool is shown in the presence of Rhesus conflict.

This condition is extremely dangerous for the fetus, because the mother's immune system produces substances that destroy its red blood cells. In this case, a speedy delivery will save the life of the child and begin his treatment. Also, this drug is indicated for the weakening of labor activity. This condition is characterized by a decrease in uterine contraction, which leads to a lack of fetal movement.

In any of the above cases, the drug is used only in cases where the cervix is ​​​​completely ready for childbirth. It should be shortened, softened, with a slightly open channel. Otherwise, other methods are preliminarily used to prepare the cervix for childbirth and accelerate its maturation.

Contraindications of the drug

Oxytocin in the form of injections is contraindicated for use in the following cases:

• if the size of the fetus and the width of the pelvis of the woman do not match, if it is in the wrong position, if there is a placenta previa or if the umbilical cord prolapses;
• if there is a threat of uterine rupture;
• in the presence of factors that prevent the normal passage of the fetus through the cervix. For example, with the formation of tumors on it;
• in the presence of scars on the uterus (after cesarean section, surgery to remove fibroids);
• individual intolerance to the drug;
• immature cervix.

Side effects of the drug

In some cases, after the introduction this drug the following side effects are observed:

• anaphylactic shock;
• uterine hypertonicity;
• excessive contraction. Leads to rupture of uterine tissue;
• lowering blood pressure;
• hot flashes;
• increased heart rate;
• nausea and vomiting;
• asphyxia, compression and death of the fetus.

Hormone use by men

Oxytocin is also produced in the male body. Athletes often practice its artificial administration to achieve the following effect:

• a significant increase in stem cell proliferation;
• an athlete taking oxytocin observes rapid muscle recovery after training;
• rapid healing of wounds;
• the drug taken will inhibit the action of cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone, which destroy muscles;
• the body is rejuvenated;
• mood enhancement.

Oxytocin in the body of a man should also not exceed the permissible norm. This leads to a decrease in sexual desire and impotence. A hormonal drug containing oxytocin should be used according to a scheme strictly defined in the instructions from the manufacturer. This remedy available as a solution for injection or nasal spray.

How to increase the amount of this hormone naturally

This is the hormone of attachment, which is released in a fairly large amount at the time when a person experiences love. This feeling produces high level a hormone that is stored through bodily contact. A guy or a girl will observe a surge of vital energy during hugs, kisses, sexual relations. Massage is recommended. Stroking the skin has a positive effect on two people who are involved in the process.

Also, its amount in the human body increases significantly with social interaction. The main factor in this process is the brightness of what is happening. Such activities include group sports, dancing, prayers, and others. In any case, a person should feel part of society and actively interact with others.

In terms of the amount of oxytocin released, women were the luckiest. They feel the peak of his concentration at the time of the birth of the child and during breastfeeding. This explains the high emotional attachment of the mother to the baby.

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5. A guide for emergency physicians. help. Edited by V.A. Mikhailovich, A.G. Miroshnichenko. 3rd edition. St. Petersburg, 2005.

Professor of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Strasbourg, Director of the Laboratory for Therapeutic Innovations Marcel Ibert gave a lecture on the "Chemistry of Love" at the Afisha Picnic. Slon publishes an abridged version of this lecture.

I am a chemist, developing various drugs, such serious things as the fight against cancer, against aging. But one day I thought about the chemical component of love. We study stress, diseases - what happens in a person during love, what chemical processes?

To begin with, I asked myself: what is love? I used to approach the subject of my research thoroughly. If you ask yourself what, for example, cancer is, you will find a clear definition of cancer, a detailed classification of its types. But when we began to find out what love is, and tried to raise scientific literature on this topic, we did not find anything at all. That is, in the field of science, no one has dealt with this issue at all. And we had to read philosophers and poets in order to somehow define this concept. We know that the word "love" has many meanings - love can be maternal, brotherly, it can be a need, or it can be a gift. Sometimes love is a pure drug, a heavy addiction. Passion, tenderness, dependence - a variety of phenomena are called love.

Even the ancient Greeks divided love into types. They identified seven types of love, but let's not go too deep, consider three: eros, philia and agape. Eros is love-passion, it is lust, the need to possess another person. Eros is never happy - yes, lust can be satisfied now, but then it arises again. Filia is a completely different type of love, such love is happiness. You rejoice when you see another person, you like to drink tea with him or do something together. Agape is closer to mercy, it is love without passion, it is sympathy, compassion, the need to help another. Human behavior, depending on the type of love, of course, is very different. And if you read love poems from this point of view, you will see how different they are.

Let's say we have a little decided on what we call love. Now let's define what is a person? 70 percent water, 3-4 kilograms of bones, everything else is organic, molecules. Man is a big bag of molecules. Everything that happens within us is molecular in nature. Life is the interaction of molecules. For many hundreds of years, humans have been studied at the organ level. At the beginning of the 20th century, we moved to the cellular level, and in the last fifty years, to the molecular level. I think it will take another twenty years to finally understand how a person works.

By manipulating the amount of oxytocin, you can completely change the behavior

We owe a significant breakthrough in the study of emotions to the neuroscientist and pharmacologist Thomas Insel, now director of the US National Institute of Mental Health. Insel studied the behavior of mice - he was interested in the relationship between mother, father, mice. He was especially interested in anxiety in mice, because he worked on drugs to mitigate anxiety, anxiolytics. If he tore the mouse away from the mother, the mouse began to squeak and rush about. Insel gave the mouse anxiolytics, and the mouse calmed down. So they spent time with mice.

Once, it was in 2000, Insel was told about some very strange rats, interesting for their monogamy, which is not typical for rats. These rats formed pairs for life, raised their young together and were an example of amazing care for each other. What is especially interesting, other rats lived next to the same rats, and everything was much less romantic for them - they mated with anyone and did not particularly care for their offspring. The good rats lived under the mountain, and the bad ones lived on the mountain. At the same time, the rats belonged to the same species, they did not seem to differ in anything.

Insel, of course, became very interested in both rats and began to study them. How exactly did he study them: he caught rats both on the mountain and under the mountain, took samples from them, began to study these tests in his laboratory. He compared the samples of good and bad rats, trying to find the difference at the molecular level. But everything was the same. He struggled for a long time and finally discovered the difference in the amount of two hormones, vasopressin and oxytocin. Good-behaving rats had high levels of oxytocin, while bad-behaving rats had low levels.

Insel went further: he injected the bad rats with oxytocin. And what: these dissolute rats, who were not at all interested in their offspring, became faithful spouses and wonderful parents. Continuing the experiment, Insel blocked oxytocin in good rats - and faithful spouses and wonderful parents deteriorated in every way, they immediately turned into dissolute and indifferent. It turned out that by manipulating the amount of oxytocin, you can completely change the behavior of these animals. Maternal love, paternal love, monogamy and polygamy - it turned out that all this depends on some kind of molecule. Just one hormone - and the terrible becomes beautiful and vice versa. We are used to treating maternal love as the most sublime thing in the world, and what we see: we introduce a molecule - there is love, we block the molecule - there is no love.

High levels of oxytocin make females fearless

Vasopressin and oxytocin are very simple molecules, small peptides, you can easily create them yourself even in a garage. What is characteristic is that in all types of living organisms these hormones were invariably found, that is, they are fundamentally important for evolution. Interestingly, oxytocin has been studied before - this is the hormone that is produced during pregnancy starting from about the fifth or sixth month, it is thanks to it that women have milk. A woman - like any mammal - releases this hormone in large quantities at the time of childbirth. If labor is delayed, doctors use this hormone to speed up labor - and as such, it has been well studied. The importance of oxytocin for childbirth and breastfeeding has been known for fifty years. But in the last ten years, it has become clear that we underestimated this hormone, and much more depends on it.

In Israel, they recently conducted a large-scale study of women who had recently given birth. And what turned out? Women with high levels of oxytocin had excellent relationships with newborns, complete harmony and mutual understanding. Women with a lack of oxytocin had problems with feeding babies, and with mutual understanding - they were all more nervous and tense. What happens to fathers in this situation? If a woman produces oxytocin, then a man, watching her, becomes empathically infected with this and also begins to produce it. If a close empathic connection is established between a woman and a man, they together produce oxytocin and become wonderful caring parents.

We also found out that a high level of oxytocin makes females fearless - they are not afraid of anything at all, they are ready for anything to protect their cubs. And if there is not enough oxytocin, there are much more fears. Fear of dogs, for example, usually indicates a lack of oxytocin.

The period of postpartum depression is accompanied by a sharp drop in oxytocin - as soon as its level levels off, depression goes away. But if for some reason its level does not even out, depression can drag on for months and even years.

When a baby drinks mother's milk, he receives his dose of oxytocin along with milk. And it acts on him like ecstasy - it is a kind of drug, it is very pleasant for a child to eat milk. Therefore, babies want to eat as often as possible - they really like the process itself, milk makes them happy. When everything goes well, the mother produces oxytocin with feeding for herself, and feeding becomes a pleasure for both. This is not just a pleasure, but also a guarantee of future harmonious relationships, strong affection. The end of breastfeeding can be very painful for both mother and baby - it can even feel like a drug withdrawal because both stop getting their usual dose of oxytocin.

“I'm sorry, but it's not my fault, I'm just biologically arranged that way”

We studied more than five hundred adult men - we tried to choose men who have been distinguished from generation to generation by fidelity and care for children, and men who themselves grew up without fathers and continue the same line with their own children. And we managed to isolate the gene that is responsible for stable relationships - in faithful men, the chain of this gene is much longer than in unfaithful men.

With mice, we went further - we transplanted the correct gene into the wrong mice and achieved amazing results. Mother-mouse, who left her newborn children to the mercy of fate, returned to them and began to take care of them, showing miracles of selflessness. With humans, we do not yet dare to experiment in this way. But in any case, I can please those young people who cannot be faithful to their girlfriends. Now you have an excuse - you can say: "I'm sorry, but it's not my fault, I'm just biologically designed that way."

Of course, genes are not everything. Genes give us a predisposition - but there is upbringing, traditions, lifestyle, culture, experience, and all this seriously changes our personality. And we find people without a genetic predisposition to fidelity who nevertheless manage to be wonderful spouses and parents.

How is oxytocin produced? Look at the other person with tenderness and that person will begin to release oxytocin. Pet him - oxytocin will increase. Kiss him - oxytocin will be even more. If you have a person in front of you with whom you want to commit yourself for a long time, hug and kiss him as often as possible. But be careful with hugs and kisses, if you do not want excessive affection and closeness - the oxytocin produced can take your partner far.

During sex and especially orgasm, oxytocin is produced in huge amounts, and this works for your connection. With the same partner, this works for several years - and then, as a rule, quietly disappears. Why? Nature believes that about three years is enough for a woman to become pregnant and for the baby to grow up a little. They say passion is blind. Yes, but she is blind for six months, a year, a maximum of three years - in order for the couple to continue to exist further, something more is needed than naked attraction. Oxytocin is a drug, and this is not enough for life.

What will happen if we get the ability to control love?

Oxytocin controls not only relationships within the family, but also relationships in society - if a child has little oxytocin, he cannot fully contact with others. He has too many fears and becomes autistic. An experiment was conducted - autistic children were given oxytocin, and they began to look people in the eye. Usually they do not look others in the eye, but turn away, look away. Oxytocin is responsible for trust, for sympathy for others.

We conducted an experiment with two groups of students - one was given oxytocin to breathe, the other was not, and both groups strangers asked to borrow money. 80% percent of the members of the oxytocin group gave money. In the group without oxytocin, not a single person wanted to give money. That is, oxytocin helps to establish bonds between people. Without it, loving your neighbors, and even more so those far away, becomes much more difficult. Volunteers of charitable organizations were studied - predictably it turned out that they were all right with oxytocin.

Of course, culture and upbringing are extremely important. But it is impossible not to take into account the molecular mechanisms of a person, his genetic predispositions. Probably, if you live in the mountains in Switzerland, a chronic lack of oxytocin in you may not result in anxiety and depression. But if the circumstances of your life are conducive to being often and very nervous - if, God forbid, you lose loved ones or get into an accident - your predispositions can play a bad role.

The question arises whether such molecular research cause harm, is it worth continuing? What will happen if we get the ability to control love? This idea seems dangerous, so we get to the invention of the love potion. Yes, work on anti-anxiety drugs seems to be extremely useful, but how to avoid illicit manipulation of people? But this is an eternal question. Man tamed fire because fire is heat. But a fire with careless handling is a fire.

Oxytocin is already on sale, and it's no secret, it's easy to buy online. I consider it my duty to warn you that if you are going to use it, then buy it in the form of a nasal spray - it does not make sense to take it inside, it must be inhaled into the nostrils. If it seems to you that he will help you in your love affairs, well, maybe. But we understand that love is not limited to hormones and genetics. And you can definitely treat each other with tenderness, hug and kiss each other without thinking about what kind of molecular mechanisms drive you.

Р.S.: Yes, it wasn’t there ....

However, conflicting reports began to come in a few years ago. Israeli scientists have found that Oxytocin increases not only trust and generosity, but also envy and gloating. When the subjects gambled, those who inhaled the hormone were more overtly happy about their opponent's defeat. When they lost, they were also more jealous of the winner. So oxytocin can provoke ambiguous feelings.

And that is not all. The hormone has a very different effect on different people. Yes, oxytocin helps some people better read the emotions of others, but only for those who themselves are not particularly competent in this area. And for those who are anxious and afraid to make a bad impression, oxytocin generally reduces the level of trust and the tendency to interact. And memories of the past under the influence of oxytocin are stained differently. Those who have a good relationship with mothers, under the influence of the hormone, they talk about them with special love, and those who experience difficulties in communicating with people, on the contrary, recall that their mothers were aloof and cold.

Is it about the environment?

Another discovery - the effect of oxytocin depends on who the person communicates with. Belgian scientists from the University of Antwerp found that the willingness to make contact under the influence of the hormone increases only when the subject knows something about the partner. When paired with a stranger, a person becomes less sociable. And Dutch researchers found that those who sniffed oxytocin are more friendly with their compatriots, but not with people of other nationalities.

Dutch men treated people with Dutch names well, but not with German or Arabic ones. That is, oxytocin causes a desire to care for and protect, to protect members of their circle from external dangers. It's like the effect of a mother bear protecting her cubs and being dangerous to her enemies. In other words, oxytocin does not make a person abstractly good; on the contrary, it reinforces prejudice.

These subtleties were visible from the very beginning. Almost half of the studies indicated that oxytocin only affects some people, or only under certain circumstances. But the trend was such that such results were ignored, and now they are looked at in a new way.

There are now several hypotheses about the role of oxytocin in human behavior, and they are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Oxytocin can decrease anxiety and fear. Or it can motivate people to communicate, hence increasing trust and propensity to interact, and within this view it is quite logical that under the influence of oxytocin a person prefers to communicate with those who are similar to him. At the same time, people who are preoccupied with the impression they make on others do not feel better under the influence of the hormone.

Another hypothesis is that oxytocin acts as a spotlight that highlights changes that are significant for communication - body position, eye expression, voice timbre. That is why people under the influence of this hormone look more closely at the interlocutors and understand them better. emotional condition . For autistic sufferers whose interactions with others are difficult due to their illness, oxytocin is beneficial because it allows them to become aware of these subtle signs. And for people who are overly anxious, things can get worse, as they tend to attribute the worst possible interpretation to other people's gestures and intonations. People can become more compassionate and helpful to others, but they can also become more vigilant and competitive. It all depends on the individual characteristics of communication partners.

Perhaps it should not be surprising that views on the role of oxytocin have become even more controversial. This hormone is found in almost all living creatures - from octopuses to sheep. Its history spans half a billion years. It is a very ancient and simple molecule that has found applications in processes ranging from lactation to social behavior. It works on the base parts. brain, such as the amygdala, that is, the influence will be traced in almost all aspects of human behavior. Oxytocin is involved in the regulation of basic human functions, but if we add our intelligence, complex behavioral patterns and social paradigms, these basic functions can be expressed perfectly. different ways depending on individual differences and context.

Most people have an idea that the endocrine glands produce biologically active substances that regulate the functioning of almost all organs and systems of the human body. They are called hormones. There are a great many of them. Hormones control metabolism, are responsible for sexual development, body proportions and reproductive function, respond to external and internal stimuli. At the same time, few people know that in a special part of the brain, the hypothalamus, the hormone oxytocin is produced, which has a wide range of effects on the human body. Oxytocin takes part in the contractile activity of smooth muscle muscles, affects the psyche, causes a feeling of attachment to the opposite sex and children, regulates the process of conception, the period of pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. No wonder oxytocin is called the "hormone of love and family happiness."

Oxytocin and the female body

Of course, this hormone is produced in the hypothalamus of each person, but oxytocin has a special effect on female body. It promotes muscle contraction Bladder, intestines, and most importantly - stimulates the contractile activity of the muscles of the uterus at the time of delivery and the mammary glands during lactation. In the third trimester of pregnancy, the level of oxytocin in a woman's blood increases dramatically and reaches its peak before childbirth. The high contractile effect of oxytocin is counteracted by another important hormone, progesterone. If it is not produced enough, a miscarriage may occur.

After childbirth, oxytocin affects the lactation process - the formation and release of breast milk. This hormone is directly involved in the contraction of myoepithelial cells of the mammary glands, contributing to the “pushing out” of milk into the ducts. In addition, oxytocin stimulates secretion, which is responsible for the production of breast milk.

After the birth of a newborn and in the subsequent postpartum period, oxytocin regulates the emotional relationship between mother and child. This hormone begins to act when the fetus is still in the womb. After childbirth, oxytocin reduces the baby's sense of anxiety and fear of the reality that has come, cheers him up, and the mother develops attachment to the child.

Oxytocin and the male body

Oxytocin affects not only the fair sex. This hormone is involved in many processes that occur in the male body, for example, controls an erection. At the moment of orgasm, its level rises sharply, which contributes to a faster penetration of spermatozoa into the egg. Thus, oxytocin is directly involved in the birth of a new life. The production of this hormone in men ensures a benevolent attitude towards people around them, attachment to their chosen one and children. According to studies, it was possible to establish that men with an increased level of oxytocin are faithful spouses and wonderful fathers.

The effect of oxytocin on relationships between people

Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter hormone. It directly affects the psycho-emotional sphere of the body, causing a positive, benevolent attitude towards life in women and men. The hormone enhances the existing trust between people, that is, it affects the social behavior of a person.

Nerve receptors in the skin also respond to the production of oxytocin. Therefore, this biologically active substance is also informally called the “cuddle hormone”. Its level increases significantly in romantic relationships, especially in monogamous families. At such moments, a person experiences a feeling of pleasant excitement, admiration, love. Studies have shown that people who prefer free sexual relations, or who regularly cheat on their partners, have a low level of oxytocin.

Oxytocin is also known as the "friendship hormone". Its development is enhanced by any friendly support, which often develops into a high feeling of love. But friendship and love resist depression, stress, high blood pressure, a set of extra pounds. As a result, life expectancy increases. Thus, the hormone oxytocin performs the most important function - it ensures harmony in interpersonal relationships. Be healthy!