About the Love Hormone and About Love

Oxytocin is sometimes called the “love hormone”; it is a brain chemical that is associated with pair bonding, between mothers and infants and also between males and females. It seems to play a role in social and repetitive behaviors, and researchers at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine have found that oxytocin may reduce some repetitive behaviors in autistic adults. The February 14th Science Daily reports on a study at the University of California at San Diego that is using oxytocin to treat anxiety:

In humans, oxytocin is released during hugging and pleasant physical touch, and plays a part in the human sexual response cycle. It appears to change the brain signals related to social recognition via facial expressions, perhaps by changing the firing of the amygdala, the part of the brain that plays a primary role in the processing of important emotional stimuli. In this way, oxytocin in the brain may be a potent mediator of human social behavior.

“That’s why oxytocin is sometimes called ‘the love hormone,” said [Kai] MacDonald, M.D., [assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCSD]. “It’s said that the eyes are the window to the soul…they certainly are the window to the emotional brain. We know that the eye-to-eye communication—which is affected by oxytocin—is critical to intimate emotional communication for all kind of emotions – love, fear, trust, anxiety.”

He adds that people with schizophrenia or autism often avoid eye-to-eye gaze, focus on less relavent areas of the face, and avoid meaningful social contact. The UCSD researchers theorize that use of oxytocin might act on the brains of patients with schizophrenia and anxiety and may ultimately increase the level of trust or emotional contact between patient and physician, or with patients and significant others.

No doubt that Charlie has a lot of trouble with anxiety, with worrying about what will happen (my parents leaving on Sunday after a week-long visit) days and days before (when they first drove up in a rental car, Charlie cried, worrying about them leaving—-this has been happening for a long time. He’s always been a naturally affectionate kid, from the time he was a baby, and offers regular hugs (and gave my mom a big kiss on the cheek while riding the subway yesterday). Jim had to go out of town from Tuesday through Thursday and Charlie frowned to find just him and me driving in the black car. I carefully explained, “Dad’s in Ohio.” “Dad hi oh,” said Charlie. “Oh Hi Oh,” I said. “Dad’s in Ohio.” Pause. “Dad back!”

There’s the love hormone, and then there’s just love, too.