"Love Hormone" helps smooth relations

Friday May 1, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) -- The “love hormone” oxytocin helps couples communicate better and reduces stress, say Swiss researchers. The first real time study of oxytocin, to be released in the May 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry, says the hormone has shown positive results in taking the edge off of stressful issues between couples, such as home finances.

From the Greek, meaning “quick birth,” oxytocin is a hormone that also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. It has been used for years for its role in the birth process, such as inducing labor and lactation. But more recently, the hormone is being studied and marketed for its role in enhancing human relationships. It is marketed under the name “Liquid Trust” and is also called the “cuddle chemical.”

The Swiss study involved adult couples who received oxytocin or placebo in a nasal spray before engaging in conflict discussions in a laboratory setting. Researchers say the oxytocin helped to increase positive communication behavior and reduced “salivary cortisol,” or stress levels, compared to the placebo. “We are just beginning to understand the powerful effects of hormones and chemicals released by the body in the context of important social interactions,” said journal editor Dr. John Krystal. “As this knowledge grows, the question of how to best use our developing capacities to pharmacologically alter social processes will become an important question to explore.”

Oxytocin has also been studied for its role in human behavior, including social recognition, bonding, anxiety, trust and maternal behavior. Some studies have suggested the trust-inducing property of the hormone may help social anxieties and mood disorders.
But Dr. Beate Ditzen, author of the study, said a word of caution is necessary along those lines. “[Oxytocin] might help us to pronounce the effects of a standard treatment, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, by possibly making the benefits of social interaction more accessible to the individual,” she said. “But it probably will not replace these standard treatments.”

The authors stressed that the study does not show that oxytocin should be used as a treatment itself, and the effects of repeated administration of the hormone have not been evaluated in humans.

(By Sheilah Downey, and edited by Heather Kelley)