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A pill that could stop men from cheating could "potentially" soon be in the pipeline, following a new study by scientists. The study, published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, found that men with “hypersexual disorder” have “significantly higher” levels of oxytocin in their system. Oxytocin — often referred to as the “love hormone” — is produced by both men and women and helps fuel positive emotions, like other hormones such as dopamine and serotonin. It's also responsible for increasing levels of relaxation and trust. However, the study - which examined 64 men with hypersexual disorder,...

The irresistible gaze of "puppy-dog eyes" has roots in thousands of years of human evolution alongside domesticated dogs, says anthropologist Robert Losey. Anyone who owns a dog is familiar with the "gaze" -- that hypnotic, imploring stare that demands reciprocation. It can seem to hold a world of mystery and longing, or just pure bafflement at what makes humans tick. It turns out that the look of mutual recognition between human and dog reflects thousands of years of evolution, a bond programmed into our very body chemistry. Last spring a research team in Japan discovered that both species release a...

Full title: 'Having multiple sex partners is almost like tape that loses its stickiness': Parents outraged after sex education program warns girls as young as 12 not to hug boys Parents have been left outraged after students as young as 12 have been exposed to material which claims women 'lose their stickiness' like tape after becoming involved with multiple sexual partners. Female schoolchildren attending Fairhills High School in Knoxfield, east of Melbourne came home with pamphlets distributed at the school by a youth group called Epic Youth, a branch of the Pentecostal CityLife megachurch. The sex education information also states...

Oxytocin is that feel good hormone that bonds a child to his or her mother. But never mind that. Researchers in Hawaii are recruiting girls as young as 14 to participate in second trimester abortions, where the preborn baby is 18-24 weeks gestation, in order to test whether or not oxytocin can reduce bleeding in mothers during and after abortion. The study is being conducted by the University of Hawaii and the University of Washington in Seattle – both public universities, which leads to the obvious question: is the government funding this study? A second trimester abortion is at least...

In an article published in Science, the researchers demonstrate that chloride levels are elevated in the neurons of mice used in an animal model of autism, and remain at abnormal levels from birth. These results corroborate the success obtained with the diuretic treatment tested on autistic children by the researchers and clinicians in 2012, and suggest that administration of diuretics to mice before birth corrects the deficits in the offspring. They also show that oxytocin, the birth hormone, brings about a decrease in chloride level during birth, which controls the expression of the autistic syndrome. . . . . A...

A German scientist who found that the “cuddle hormone” oxytocin keeps men faithful by creating a drug-like effect has moved on to testing its effect on moral decision making – and women did not do well. Germans 'cut HIV out of infected cells' (18 Dec 13) A third of HIV cases 'not diagnosed' (29 Nov 13) Hormone makes men 'high on girlfriend' (25 Nov 13) Dr René Hurlemann’s initial research, which was published in November, revealed for the first time that there seemed to be a natural mechanism in people which sees intimacy triggering higher oxytocin levels. The theory comes...

“Forget Viagra, the 'cuddle drug' could be the new way to boost performance in the bedroom,” according to the Daily Mail. Apparently, inhaling the “cuddle chemical” oxytocin can cause improvements in sexual problems “on a par with Viagra”.

For a hormone, oxytocin is pretty famous. It’s the “cuddle chemical”—the hormone that helps mothers bond with their babies. Salespeople can buy oxytocin spray on the internet, to make their clients trust them. It’s known for promoting positive feelings, but more recent research has found that oxytocin can promote negative emotions, too. The authors of a new review article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, takes a look at what oxytocin is really doing. Oxytocin’s positive effects are well known. Experiments have found that, in games in which you can choose to...

Life for those with a genetic disease called Prader-Willi syndrome, which affects an estimated one out of 15,000 people, can be challenging both for the patient and his or her family. Sufferers have an insatiable hunger that can lead to life-threatening obesity if access to food is not restricted. And worse, they have behavioral problems akin to autism. Tantrums and tears are common because these patients have difficulty understanding the motives of others and controlling their own emotions. But treatment with the brain hormone oxytocin may help bring both emotions and eating into balance, according to a new study. Several...

CINCINNATI—All those salty snacks available at the local tavern might be doing more than increasing your thirst: They could also play a role in suppressing social anxiety. New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that elevated levels of sodium blunt the body's natural responses to stress by inhibiting stress hormones that would otherwise be activated in stressful situations. These hormones are located along the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which controls reactions to stress. The research is reported in the April 6, 2011, issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. "We're calling this...

Oxytocin has been described as the hormone of love. This tiny chemical, released from the hypothalamus region of the brain, gives rat mothers the urge to nurse their pups, keeps male prairie voles... --snip-- For military commanders, nothing is more important than the group cohesion of their soldiers, for which oxytocin might now seem the ideal prescription. But this assumption is a bridge too far, Dr. De Dreu said, given that his findings are based only on lab experiments. What does it mean that a chemical basis for ethnocentrism is embedded in the human brain? “In the ancestral environment it...

Enlarge ImageDéjà vu? Subjects were shown dozens of pictures like these and tested on whether they remembered them the next day.Credit: U. Rimmele et al., J. Neuroscience, 7 January 2009 The next time you spot an old friend from across the room, thank oxytocin. Researchers have shown that the brain hormone helps us sense whether a face is familiar. Oxytocin is a powerful social chemical. In voles, for example, the hormone is key to attachment behavior: Males with higher levels of oxytocin are more likely to be faithful to their mates. Humans also make use of the hormone. Oxytocin...

It can turn anything from job interviews to the most routine of family gatherings into a sweat-inducing ordeal. But a 'love drug' produced naturally by the body during sex and childbirth could offer hope to the millions of people blighted by shyness, scientists have said.Investigators believe oxytocin - a natural hormone that assists childbirth and helps mothers bond with newborn babies - could become a wonder drug for overcoming shyness.  Trials have found that oxytocin can reduce anxiety and ease phobias. Researchers say the hormone offers a possible, safe, alternative to alcohol as a means of overcoming the problem....

Enlarge ImageBrain trust. The hormone oxytocin may spur us to trust others even when they betray us by suppressing activity in the dorsal striatum (top, red regions) and amygdala (bottom).Credit: Thomas Baumgartner/University of Zürich Trust forms the foundation of healthy relationships, and now scientists are zeroing in on how the feeling is triggered by chemicals in the brain. A new study shows that the hormone oxytocin may spur us to trust others even after they have betrayed us by suppressing a region of the brain that signals fear. The findings could lead to a better understanding of social phobias...

The secret of sexual attraction has long mystified those held in its throes, but it perplexes scientists and academics too, who have been squabbling about the inner workings of our sexual proclivities for eons. Freudians point the finger at potty training, evolutionary psychologists fixate on hip-to-waist ratios, while neuroscientists attribute all to hormonal cocktails. Even the best researchers seem stumped by what laymen lovers call chemistry: the attachment we view as a profoundly unique experience with our mate of choice. In their recently released book, The Psychology of Physical Attraction, British psychologists Adrian Furnham and Viren Swami attempt to debunk...

Trust in a bottle? It sounds like a marketer's fantasy, like the fabled fountain of youth or the wild claims of fad diets. Yet that's what Swiss and American scientists demonstrate in new experiments with a nasal spray containing the hormone oxytocin. After a few squirts, human subjects were significantly more trusting and willing to invest money with no ironclad promise of a profit. The researchers acknowledged their findings could be abused by con artists or even sleazy politicians who might sway an election, provided they could squirt enough voters on their way to the polls. "Of course, this finding...