oxytocin

Pet dogs produce a larger volume of tears when they are reunited with their owners than with acquaintances, possibly because of surging oxytocin levels—findings that could be the first evidence of emotional crying in nonhuman animals.

A researcher’s existential crisis led to a scientific breakthrough.

The Columbia University neuroscientist researches the biology behind some of our most human experiences, including building family relationships. 

Meet some of the people featured in the October 2020 issue of The Scientist.

Changes in blood levels of oxytocin and adrenocorticotropic hormone and patterns of neural activity predict how much money people will donate to a cause with high accuracy.

Affectionate touches tap into the nervous system’s rest and digest mode, reducing the release of stress hormones, bolstering the immune system, and stimulating brainwaves linked with relaxation.

Two clinical trials that altered vasopressin signaling report improved social functions in people with autism spectrum disorder, but researchers caution against overinterpreting the results.

Can people’s social skills affect their experience of time?

Oxytocin and social contact together modulate endocannabinoid activity in the mouse brain, which could help explain the prosocial effects of marijuana use. 

Dog owners bond with their four-legged friends via the same hormonal pathways through which human mothers bond with their babies.

The hormone activates neurons that trigger female mice to respond to the distress calls of lost pups.

Scientists find that the hormone improves sociability in a mouse model of autism.

Transcriptional landscape of the fetal brain; how a parasitic worm invades plants; difficulties reproducing “breakthrough” heart regeneration method; oxytocin and dishonesty

The so-called “love hormone” can make people more dishonest when it serves the interests of their group. 

Females of the pair-bonded rodent species become attached to their lifelong mates following histone modifications near oxytocin and vasopressin receptor genes.