Brain Oxytocin: A Key Regulator of Emotional and Social Behaviours in Both Females and Males

In addition to various reproductive stimuli, the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is released both from the neurohypophysial terminal into the blood stream and within distinct brain regions in response to stressful or social stimuli. Brain OXT receptor-mediated actions were shown to be significantly involved in the regulation of a variety of behaviours. Here, complementary methodological approaches are discussed which were utilised to reveal, for example, anxiolytic and anti-stress effects of OXT, both in females and in males, effects that were localised within the central amygdala and the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus. Also, in male rats, activation of the brain OXT system is essential for the regulation of sexual behaviour, and increased OXT system activity during mating is directly linked to an attenuated anxiety-related behaviour. Moreover, in late pregnancy and during lactation, central OXT is involved in the establishment and fine-tuned maintenance of maternal care and maternal aggression. In monogamous prairie voles, brain OXT is important for mating-induced pair bonding, especially in females. Another example of behavioural actions of intracerebral OXT is the promotion of social memory processes and recognition of con-specifics, as revealed in rats, mice, sheep and voles. Experimental evidence suggests that, in humans, brain OXT exerts similar behavioural effects. Thus, the brain OXT system seems to be a potential target for the development of therapeutics to treat anxiety- and depression-related diseases or abnormal social behaviours including autism.

Author: Neumann, I. D.

Source: Journal of Neuroendocrinology, Volume 20, Number 6, June 2008 , pp. 858-865(8)

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

Oxytocin is an FDA controlled substance!

Ingesting oxytocin in a pure form is not only illegal but it would be useless. 

1. Oxytocin is destroyed by stomach acids. 

2. Oxytocin has a three minute half-life in our blood stream.

The healthiest way to achieve optimal oxytocin levels is to urge the body and the mind to support its own oxytocin release.

Building trusting relationships is a process and is not something that takes place within a few moments in time or is limited to happening within a certain time period. It is quite possible that you may not even know it is happening until you experience that first smile or other unique cue, and respond appropriately.

Talking, touching, holding, singing, eye contact . . . in tandem wih sub-lingual homeopathic oxytocin invigorator can help support these behaviors.

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Industry junks St John’s wort ADHD study

A study that found St John’s wort was ineffective in positively affecting children suffering from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been heavily criticized by industry for being badly designed. Industry has criticized the study and disputed the researchers claim that St John’s wort is one of the most common treatments for ADHD among children.

It has also been criticized for subjecting St John’s wort to inappropriate, pharmaceutical-style testing when the herb also known as Hypericum perforatum does not function as a drug.“Why wasn’t a gold standard [double blind, placebo-controlled] used to do a proper comparison?” Daniel Fabricant, PhD, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Natural Products Association (NPA) told NutraIngredients-USA.com.

“If they’re going to set up a drug trial then they should go all out with it. We all know St. John’s wort isn’t a drug, and traditionally isn’t used or intended to be used as a drug.”

St John’s wort’s most commonly studied benefit is in the relief of mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety.

“It’s commonly used and has shown efficacy for mild-to-moderate depression in more appropriately designed trials,” Fabricant said. “But if you are going to treat it like a drug in a trial, then all the bells and whistles have to be there to accurately tell the whole story. In this instance if the gold standard intervention showed the same lack of effect, would it have been reported that the gold standard didn’t work for ADHD?”

He added: “It certainly would have nailed home the lack of quality in this study and made it significantly more difficult to publish and call it peer-reviewed academic medical science.”

Usage and quality

The Mayland-based American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) questioned the quality of the St John’s wort used in the trial and disputed the researcher’s assertion that St John’s wort is commonly used to treat ADHD among young people.

I don’t believe that this test material would pass muster if the proposal was submitted to NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) today because something as basic as ensuring the quality through the duration of the trial was not assured,” said Steven Dentali, PhD, AHPA’s chief scienceofficer and past chairperson of NCCAM’s Product Quality Working Group.

AHPA president, Michael McGuffin, said he knew of no manufacturers marketing St John’s wort at children.

“It’s an out-of-the-ordinary, rare use. It might be a use that some mom thinks makes sense,” he said.

The randomized and placebo-controlled trial was published on June 11 in the Journal of the American Medical Association and involved 54 children ages 6 to 17 years.

Half were given St John’s wort, while the other half were given a placebo and no significant difference was found between the two groups in improving the symptoms of ADHD.

Tags: Depression, Depression+treatment, Natural+depression+treatment, HBC+protocols+all+natural+depression+treatment, St+John’s+worth

Oxytocin and depression – gay letter

I came out to my family and friends when I was 23. After 5 years of lying, it felt good! Great actually. My parents, (life long Republicans!) were pretty good about it too. Apparently they suspected I was gay, not so much because I acted gay, I don’t really, but because all I ever brought home were handsome buff guys from soccer practice, or track meets, never ever girls. Conservative but loving parents they waited (against all hope) that they were wrong rather than confront me. My stupid old Grandfather was a whole other story but I won’t go into that!

I also came out because I couldn’t handle the constant lying. At the end of the day, like my parents, I’m a fairly conservative guy; monogamous by nature and all of the lying was decaying my personal code of ethics. Furthermore, all of the compartmentalization necessary to maintain the lies was a lot of work. I also thought coming out would give me a better chance of finding landing a partner. One of my favorite pastimes in trigonometry class was daydreaming about Mr. Right.

As your average garden variety gay guy will tell you, finding Mr. Right in the “gay world” isn’t so easy. Oh, it’s real easy if you like the flakey, lispy, effeminate types, but those people turn me off, big time. I gravitate to the straighter types. My father always used to say that water seeks it’s own level so maybe it’s just the potential of camaraderie that the straighter guys sensed? It could also be that I’m shorter and slighter than average, which I may be attractive to alpha type guys? Whatever.

I eventually found a great guy and entered into a monogamous relationship that lasted about three years. Then one day Bill ended it by reason of, get this, I was getting too muscular and I threatened his masculinity. He said, “Kittens grow into cats.” Irony of ironies, he was the Tom cat, walking the fence line in every alleyway in town. I’m not the brightest bulb on the tree but that excuse was too simplistic, too pat. I think the truth of the matter is that his oxytocin was just wearing thin. It does that. That’s life. So, I’m back on the market again.

The dating scene hasn’t changed, even a little bit. I meet guys everyday; at Starbucks, the gym, any and everywhere, but they all seem like sluts, guys looking for “hit and run” sex. Not my scene. I want a man I can stick by and who will stick by me. A mainstream guy who happens to be gay. That’s all. Where can I meet a regular type guy who actually produces this bonding hormone I’m reading about called oxytocin?

Bursting with Love . . .

Imago

Oxytocin is an FDA controlled substance!

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St. John’s Wort cancer treatment heads to Phase III trial

Hy Biopharma cancer treatment heads to Phase III trial

The company developed a cancer drug based on a substance found in St. John’s Wort.

Gali Weinreb 27 May 08   14:08

US-Israeli start-up Hy Biopharma Inc., which has been almost anonymous in the local market until now, announced that it plans to shortly begin Phase III clinical trials of its cancer drug. The company’s product, HBP-347, is based on patents held by the Weizmann Institute of Science and New York University (NYU) and based on hypericin.

 

Hy Biopharma science advisory board director Dr. Gad Lavie, who invented the company’s technology, said that the company had kept a low profile because the product was brought through to the Phase II clinical trial by a US company, Vimerex, which no longer exists.

Tags: St.+John’s+Wort, Cancer+treatment, HBC+all+natural+vitamins, natural+remedy

Oxytocin – “social Viagra”?

A drug that combats shyness and social awkwardness, dubbed “social Viagra”, could soon be available at a drug store near you.

Scientists in the US found that oxytocin, a natural hormone that assists childbirth and helps mothers bond with newborn babies, helps reduce anxiety and calm phobias.

Paul Zak, a professor of neuroscience at California’s Claremont Graduate University, who has tested the hormone said: “Tests have shown that oxytocin reduces anxiety levels in users. It is a hormone that facilitates social contact between people. What’s more, it is a very safe product that does not have any side effects and is not addictive.”

‘Research shows that the higher the natural level of oxytocin people have in their brain, the more likely they are to give money to charity and act kindly towards strangers. It has also been shown to increase the level of monogamy in rodents.’

 

Oxytocin is an FDA controlled substance!

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Tags: Love+hormone, Oxytocin, Social+viagra, Love+trust+bonding

Feeling shy to go to a party full of strangers? – Oxytocin “Social viagra”

Feeling shy to go to a party full of strangers? Oxytocin social viagra! The “love hormome” oxytocin can help banish excessive shyness. That’s right, the “cuddle hormone” known to assist childbirth and help mothers bond with their newborn has been shown to reduce anxiety as well as ease phobias. “Tests have shown oxytocin reduces anxiety levels in users. It is a hormone that facilitates social contact between people. What’s more, it is a very safe product that does not have any side effects and is not addictive,” says Prof Paul Zak. Zak and his colleagues at Claremont Graduate University have tested the hormone on hundreds of patients. According to them, oxytocin’s main effect is to curb the instincts of wariness and suspicion that cause anxiety. It is produced naturally in the brain and heightens the feelings of intimacy after sexual intercourse, too. “We’ve seen that it makes you care about the other person. It also increases your generosity towards that person. That’s why (the hormone) facilitates social interaction,” said.

Oxytocin spray has also been successfully trialled at the University of New South Wales while researchers in New York have found it lessened symptoms of autism which include agitation also. “Oxytocin does not cure autism, but it does reduce the symptoms. So there is a reduction of anxiety in autistic patients, and the oxytocin can induce them to do things like make eye contact with other people and look at their faces – something autistic people find hard to do,” Prof Zak said.

 

Oxytocin is an FDA controlled substance!

Click here to read about a sublingual Homeopatic formulation designed to enable the body to release and  Accelerate its own Natural (Social Viagra) Oxytocin.

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Tags: love+hormone, Oxytocin+social+viagra, oxytocin+social+viagra, bonding+hormone’, love+trust+generosity

Oxytocin and cortisol in romantically unattached young adults: Associations with bonding and psychological distress

Forty-five romantically unattached young adults participated. Plasma oxytocin and salivary cortisol were assessed using enzyme immuno-assay, and self-report measures of bonding, attachment, anxiety, and depression were collected. Oxytocin was associated with bonding to own parents and inversely related to psychological distress, particularly depressive symptoms. Cortisol was related to attachment anxiety. Regression analysis indicated that the adult’s representations of bonding to parents predicted OT levels above and beyond cortisol, psychological distress, and attachment. Findings are consistent with antistress models of oxytocin and suggest that oxytocin may play a role in bonding-related cognitions across the life span.

Authors: Gordon, Ilanit; Zagoory-Sharon, Orna¹; Schneiderman, Inna¹; Leckman, James F.²; Weller, Aron; Feldman, Ruth

Source: Psychophysiology, Volume 45, Number 3, May 2008 , pp. 349-352(4)

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

Oxytocin is an FDA controlled substance!

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Oxytocin added to semen as an aid to fertility.

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has been detected in testis and epididymis of several mammals. The peptide affects steroidogenesis and sperm transport in vivo. Effects of OT on sperm motility in vitro seems to be contradictory. As no data are available on the presence of OT in human semen and on the relationship of OT with sperm characteristics, we assessed OT level in semen samples in 3 groups of patients: (I) normozoospermic, (II) astheno-/oligo-/teratozoospermic, and (III) azoospermic subjects. Furthermore, we studied the relationship between the concentration of OT in semen and the sperm characteristics. OT was measured in seminal plasma by radioimmunoassay after extraction. OT semen levels did not differ in control patients (I: 1.72 +/- 0.78 pg/mL; n = 10), patients with poor semen quality (II: 1.66 +/- 0.91 pg/mL; n = 11), or in vasectomized patients (III: 1.28 +/- 0.65 pg/mL; n = 11). No statistically significant relationships between the OT levels and sperm characteristics (density: 0.0693; total sperm count: 0.0845; percentage of motility: 0.1341; morphology: 0.3478) have been found. The neurosecretory peptide oxytocin is present in human seminal plasma of normal as well as of vasectomized subjects. OT is not only derived from the testis; OT levels in poor semen samples are not different from controls. No relationship was found between OT seminal plasma levels and sperm characteristics.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St. Radboud Hospital, Catholic University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Oxytocin is an FDA controlled substance!

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Tags: Oxytocin, Trust+and+love, Love+hormone, Oxytocin+and+mind+reading, Oxytocin+and+trust, Generosity

Male Anorgasmia Treated with Oxytocin

This is a case report on male anorgasmia that was successfully treated with oxytocin. Oxytocin is increased during arousal and peaks during orgasm. More recently, a study on humans published in Nature has shown its value in social bonding, increasing trust, and enhancing the sense of well-being. Aim.

To test the effectiveness of administering oxytocin in a case of treatment-resistant anorgasmia. Methods.

The patient underwent a biopsychosocial evaluation by a psychiatrist trained in sexual medicine and sex therapy for male orgasmic disorder, acquired type. Medical conditions, effect of substances, and psychological issues were ruled out. The patient was properly consented to using oxytocin as an off-label trial. Oxytocin was administered using a nasal spray intracoitally because of its ultra-short half-life. Results.

Conclusions. Oxytocin was effective in restoring ejaculation.

A case of treatment-resistant male anorgasmia was successfully treated with intracoital administration of intranasal oxytocin. Ishak WW, Berman DS, and Peters A. Male anorgasmia treated with oxytocin. J Sex Med 2008;5:1022-1024.

 

Authors: IsHak, Waguih William; Berman, Daniel S.¹; Peters, Anne²

Source: The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Volume 5, Number 4, April 2008 , pp. 1022-1024(3)

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

 

Oxytocin is an FDA controlled substance!

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Oxytocin reduces anxiety via ERK1/2 activation

Oxytocin reduces anxiety via ERK1/2 activation: local effect within the rat hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) modulates social behaviours and is an important anxiolytic substance of the brain. However, sites of action and the intracellular signalling pathways downstream of OT receptors (OTR) within the brain remain largely unknown. In the present studies, we localized the anxiolytic effect of OT by bilateral microinfusion of OT (0.01?nmol/0.5?µL) into the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) in male rats using both the elevated plus-maze and the light-dark box. Moreover, intracerebroventricular administration of OT, but not of the related neuropeptide vasopressin (VP), dose-dependently activated the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) cascade. Specifically, OT induced the phosphorylation of Raf-1, MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 in the hypothalamus in vivo and in hypothalamic H32 neurons via EGF receptors. OT-induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation was immunohistochemically localized within VP neurons of the PVN and the supraoptic nucleus. Importantly, the anxiolytic effect of OT within the PVN was prevented by local inhibition of the MAP kinase cascade with a MEK1/2 inhibitor (U0126, 0.5?nmol/0.5?µL) locally infused prior to OT, indicating the causal involvement of this intracellular signalling cascade in the behavioural effect of OT. OT effects within the hypothalamus may have far-reaching implications for the regulation of emotionality and social behaviours and, consequently, for the development of possible therapeutic strategies to treat affective disorders. Thus, OTR agonism or activation of the ERK1/2 cascade, specifically within the hypothalamus, may provide therapeutically relevant mechanisms.

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Tags: Oxytocin, Love+trust, Oxytocin+and+mind+reading, Oxytocin+love+hormone