Hot MedFax

Your genes give you blue eyes.  Your genes give you dark hair.  Your genes, in some cases (no pointing fingers!), also make you fat. But did you know they can determine how many friends you may have?   According to newswise.com, r esearchers have found that the genes that regulate oxytocin, the supreme human social hormone, are associated with the sociality of young individuals. Why some individuals seek social engagement and friendship while others shy away, may well be dependent on the expression and sequence of two genes in their bodies, the web site reports. These genes appear in people who   have more close friends and show greater social skills.The hormone released by these genes in humans are involved in primary social behaviors such as pair-bonding, mating and child-rearing, to more sophisticated behaviors such as empathy, trust and generosity. “We believe that studying the expression of genes captures more information than simple structural studi...

Did you know when you're in love it's like smoking marijuana? Well, maybe not exactly.  But the highs are similar, according to a new report . Newswise.com says that the hormone oxytocin, which has been associated with interpersonal bonding, may enhance the pleasure of social interactions by stimulating production of marijuana-like neurotransmitters in the brain, according to a University of California, Irvine study. The research provides the first link between oxytocin – dubbed the “love hormone” – and anandamide, which has been called the “bliss molecule” for its role in activating cannabinoid receptors in brain cells to heighten motivation and happiness.  Not to get too technical but the researchers discovered that social contact increased production of anandamide ( messenger molecule which plays a role in pain, depression, appetite, memory, and fertility) in  the nucleus of the brain, which triggered cannabinoid receptors there to reinforce the pleas...

You've heard the expression, every cloud has a silver lining?  Well, how about every silver lining has a cloud? A new study has found that the very same hormone that helps us love also helps us lie. Say what?   Oxytocin - the "love" hormone produced by the body to encourage bonding - may also help us to lie -- but here's the silver lining.  To the benefit of our group. Oxytocin -- which has sometimes been confused (at least by me) for oxycodone, a way to curb pain (and get high) --   has been demonstrated in research as "promoting bonding in couples and between mothers and babies, and is also thought to drive people's impulse to be sociable," according to medicalnewtoday.com. The more oxytocin a person has, the more empathy and trust they will have, as well as lower social  anxiety  and fear response. Oxytocin can also stimulate aggression, if it is required for reasons of defense, medicalnewstoday reports. Oxytocin can also keep men monoga...

It sounds like it should be a song.  "Love Hormone Number 9."  But no, it's not music by the Clovers (the Clovers ?) but an actual part of our body that may go missing when we're kids that can cause us to become addicts. Sounds a little too out-there for me but studies have found, " Addictive behavior such as drug and alcohol abuse could be associated with poor development of the so-called "'ove hormone' system in our bodies during early childhood. The discovery came from  research into oxytocin, known as the "love hormone" or "bonding drug" because of its important role in enhancing social interactions, maternal behavior and partnership, the Web site reports. "We know that newborn babies already have levels of oxytocin in their bodies, and this helps to create the all-important bond between a mother and her child," newswise quotes  Dr Femke Buisman-Pijlman from the University of Adelaide's  School of Medical ...

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...