What Is Oxytocin?

The so-called “love hormone,” oxytocin plays an important role in pregnancy, birth, and emotional bonding.

Oxytocin is a hormone best known for its roles in childbirth and lactation.

Oxytocin is sometimes referred to as the “love hormone” or “love drug” for its roles in sexual bonding, parenting, and other social behaviors.

Oxytocin in Childbirth

Oxytocin is produced in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, and is stored in the pituitary gland.

The production of naturally occurring oxytocin in the body helps to stimulate the uterus to contract at the end of pregnancy, signaling the start of childbirth.

Laboratory-made oxytocin, called Pitocin, has been used for many years to help start or strengthen uterine contractions during labor or to reduce bleeding after delivery.

Alternately, drugs that act against oxytocin are often given to help stop premature labor.

Oxytocin also helps to stimulate milk production after birth.

Other Uses of Oxytocin

In recent years, scientific studies of the effects of oxytocin on the brain suggest its role goes well beyond childbirth and lactation.

Studies in laboratory animals and humans suggest that the “love hormone” plays an important role in the establishment of social relationships and behaviors, such as caregiving.

Oxytocin also may have anxiolytic properties, meaning it may help reduce anxiety.

Oxytocin has been promoted as a “wonder drug” that can help enhance positive feelings and social skills while also purportedly alleviating serious cognitive and psychiatric and behavioral conditions, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and autism.

However, there’s little clinical evidence to suggest that oxytocin is an effective treatment for psychiatric conditions.

A scientific review published in 2013 suggested that it might help improve communication skills in people with autism spectrum disorders.

Oxytocin Nasal Spray

Oxytocin may be administered either as an injection or a nasal spray.

It’s available by prescription under the brand names Pitocin and Syntocinon.

Nasal sprays are commonly used in medical studies of psychiatric effects, because a nasal spray allows oxytocin to travel more readily from the bloodstream to the brain than an injection.

Oxytocin in Men

Men naturally produce lower levels of oxytocin than women.

Studies of men in monogamous relationships have suggested that in men, the hormone may contribute to fidelity by enhancing their female partner’s attractiveness compared to other women.

More research is needed to determine oxytocin’s effects on men.