Oxytocin Makes the Love Flow Better
Oxytocin's responsible for a lot of things. It's there in childbirth, child-making, breast-feeding. Many important roles for this hormone. But now studies are finding that it may also be responsible for monogamy -- or keeping marriages together, as well as orgasm, social recognition, pair bonding and maternal behaviors. It's the bonding part of oxytocin that has marriage counselors -- and marriage partners -- excited. Turns out, according to a story at medicalnewstoday.com, this "love hormone" also "stimulates the reward center in the male brain, increasing partner attractiveness and strengthening monogamy." How's that again? Scientists say that monogamy is not a natural state for mammals. So they set out to discover why. A simple experiment was conducted with heterosexual men in a long-term relationship who were shown photos of their partners, then photos of other women. When a spray of oxytocin was unleashed into participants' n...