"Love, inside the brain, is a chemical cocktail of many different hormones. Oxytocin which is often called the "love hormone" is believed to be the most important of all. But it is nothing more than an ancient chain of nine amino acids, produced by all mammals, with similar molecules found in fish, reptiles and worms. It helps induce contractions in childbirth, which is how it got its name: From the Greek oxys (swift) and tokos (birth)."
"In the 1990s, an Emory University research group experimented on prairie voles, a rodent species that forms long-term monogamous relationships. They found oxytocin was essential in this behavior. But the real hype around oxytocin started when researchers discovered it played a similar role in humans. A 2005 study had participants play a trust game, where they had to decide whether to give money to a second player. The money given would be tripled, after which the second player could freely decide how much to keep and how much to return."
Oxytocin is a short peptide of nine amino acids produced across mammals, with similar molecules present in fish, reptiles, and worms. Oxytocin induces contractions during childbirth and derives its name from Greek roots meaning swift birth. Oxytocin is not inherently social. Prairie vole experiments linked oxytocin to long-term monogamous bonding. A 2005 human study using nasal oxytocin increased monetary trust in an economic trust game, fueling the label of oxytocin as a "trust molecule." Public and commercial hype followed, including bottled oxytocin sales and a 5000% rise in searches for "oxytocin nasal spray" between 2004 and 2011.
Read at www.dw.com
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