New research suggests the 'love hormone' oxytocin may determine how sociable we are

Oxytocin junkies: The hormone that helps us bond with partners may also make social occasions enjoyable.

Can a single chemical be responsible for all the intimate connections we feel with other people? Oxytocin isn't called the "love hormone" for nothing. It has plenty of other functions, of course, among them triggering milk secretion during breastfeeding, and helping the cervix to dilate during labour. But it's oxytocin's role in bonding that is most intriguing.

Put away your vacuum pump, heavy-duty auto booster cables and edible latex Brad Pitt face mask-and-abs combo.

According to a study released Thursday, such items are simply litter along the road to great sex.

The study, titled The Components of Optimal Sexuality: A Portrait of 'Great Sex', suggests that sexual fulfilment has far less to do with technique and perfect bodies -- elements most often ascribed great significance by popular culture -- and more to do with such factors as presence, connection and erotic intimacy.

Experts are beginning to measure the physiological hangovers of "love," so the time may be nearing that we can look at the physiological hangover buried in the passion cycle after orgasm.

One Clinic Zeroes In on How Modern Medicine Can Help Heal Heartbreak

Medical specialists from across the globe teamed up in Amsterdam this weekend to launch a first-of-its-kind clinic for the brokenhearted.
(Jack Aarts)

by Amy Sutherland

AS I wash dishes at the kitchen sink, my husband paces behind me, irritated. "Have you seen my keys?" he snarls, then huffs out a loud sigh and stomps from the room with our dog, Dixie, at his heels, anxious over her favorite human's upset.

Notice how neurochemicals affect our perception. It is not far-fetched to suggest that they may be playing a major role in habituation or harmony between mates.

Love Hormone Boosts Strangers' Sex Appeal

Oxytocin Could Play a Key Role in Choosing Mates

A chemical best known for cementing the bond between a mother and her newborn child could also play a part in picking mister (or miss) right.

Round 2: Turning Heterosexuality On and Off

By John Tierney [2007]

The post about using a drug to change the sexual orientation of fruit flies — and some day, perhaps, of humans — generated lots of indignant reactions and questions about the research. I asked David Featherstone, one of the authors of the paper in Nature Neuroscience, to respond to Lab readers. Here’s what Dr. Featherstone, a neuroscientist at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has to say:

Turning Homosexuality On and Off

By John Tierney [2007]

What if you could take a drug that would quickly alter your sexual orientation from straight to gay, or vice versa?

To their surprise, neurobiologists have discovered that homosexuality can be turned on or off in fruit flies. They’d known that sexual orientation can be genetically programmed, but they didn’t realize it could also be altered by giving a drug that changes the way the flies’ sensory circuits react to pheromones.

Scientists say they understand more about how the body responds to pleasurable touch
A team, including scientists from the Unilever company, have identified a class of nerve fibres in the skin which specifically send pleasure messages.

And people had to be stroked at a certain speed - 4-5cm per second - to activate the pleasure sensation.

They say the study, published in Nature Neuroscience, could help understand how touch sustains human relationships.

CHICAGO – "Chemistry look what you've done to me," Donna Summer crooned in Science of Love, and so, it seems, she was right. Just in time for Valentine's Day, a panel of scientists examined the mystery of what happens when hearts throb and lips lock. Kissing, it turns out, unleashes chemicals that ease stress hormones in both sexes and encourage bonding in men, though not so much in women.

Finally, a psychiatrist is acknowledging that intense orgasm can create a hangover for some people, without any apparent psychological issues. Maybe as professionals begin to explore the neurochemistry of extreme cases they will realize that the same neurochemical fluctuations are at work in more subtle ways in the problem of habituation between couples (as well as sex addiction).