New study on Oxytocin and facial recognition

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandte ... names.html

You can massage your nipples to produce that hormone. That is if your milk ducts have already been activated from being pregnant. I still produce some milk. If you massage your milk ducts like that late in pregnancy it actually helps to speed up your contractions.

As for remembering faces, I think my memory was more acute during the bonding stage. I was relaxed and probably had a false perception that everyone was just so kind.

isnt oxycotin a painkiller?

I keep seeing these kinds of reports about oxytocin, but I don't get how it could be having central effects, since

1) it has a half-life in the body of 1-6 minutes^1 (which is why when used to induce labor it's put in a bag of saline and slowly infused)

2) it doesn't (much) pass through the blood brain barrier^2

Seems like the method mentioned above (or giving birth or nursing) would be about the only ways to really get a good dose into the brain.

As far as getting it, it's sometimes is (or was) used as a treatment for fibromyalgia -- I once was scripted 30 ampules a month of it. The effects were underwhemling (both for the fibro as well any bonding type feelings. It just felt like a weak version of how I feel when I see/pet my pets) so I gave up on it after a month.

^1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxytocin

^2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxytocin#Drug_forms

If oxytocin affects something else that does pass through the blood-brain barrier, there could be an indirect effect. Or they could use big doses.

So... what, this is like Ritalin for the face-blind?

l-arginine causes the brain to release oxtocin.

There is in the meanwhile on Youtube an talk regarding this issue on the UC-channel by Dr. Hollanders:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEAgT91XV5A[/youtube]

Dussel

THANKS SO MUCH FOR POSTING THAT YOUTUBE. Wow!! Very very interesting indeed. Something I had been thinking about, that I think is highly relevant.
Many thanks for taking the time. I have sent it onto many people so expect some more hits. Brilliant

Wow! Extremely interesting. I wish I had the time to watch it all right now

Hollander et al. (2003) did a study about nasal oxytocin infusion and Asperger's, so I'm surprised that this study is being considered novel. The results of the Hollander et al. (2003) study were very interesting: Obsessive-compulsive behaviors in those with AS significantly decreased with oxytocin, but when people with OCD got oxytocin, their OC behaviors significantly increased. It makes me wonder how those of us with both AS and OCD would react.
-OddDuckNash99-

Yes they were referring to stims, particulary harmful ones which is why I can see where the misunderstanding may well have happened. Harmful stims are often seen to be as obsessive and compulsive.

Does anyone know of any studies into diagnosed women's testosterone levels? I have a theory!! But for a moment I will keep my own counsel!

I don't know that decreasing stims would be a good thing. I stim most obviously and most vigorously when I'm thinking most clearly and efficiently; it's very common to see me doing a difficult math or science assignment while in constant motion. If I were to "relax", and not "need" to stim anymore, I'd also lose the mental acuity that lets me understand and process logical information. Sure, I might not be as physically tense; but you do need a certain level of tension to work at your peak performance. That's why many people drink coffee; it increases your "alert" level and lets you call on more mental resources than usual. If oxytocin makes you feel more relaxed, it could really backfire. Sure, being too alert and on-edge is bad, too, and decreases your performance; but that's not the main problem for me. Usually, I'm dealing with inertia.

Here's an interesting thing with oxytocin: In my anatomy class, the official word seems to be that nobody knows what oxytocin does in men, nor what the effects of producing too much or not enough of it are. So either the newer stuff hasn't filtered down to the undergrad level (likely enough) or nothing's conclusive yet.