Animal minds Intelligent Design

Oxytocin — that supposedly creates attraction — not needed, new study shows

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This story just had to work for Valentine’s Day…

From The Scientist:

Prairie voles mate for life. Much like humans, once voles form a pair bond—typically with a member of the opposite sex—they cohabitate, coparent, and even prefer each other’s company over that of other voles. Decades of research on the monogamous rodents have led to a better understanding of the so-called love molecule oxytocin, a hormone that studies have suggested is crucial for forming social bonds in prairie voles, humans, and various other species.

But new research published today (January 27) in Neuron has turned 40 years of oxytocin research on its head by showing that voles without oxytocin receptors still form pair bonds. The finding might hold clues as to why researchers have had mixed success in using oxytocin to treat conditions that disrupt the formation of social bonds, such as depression and autism, the authors say.

“I think that it really does require revisiting and reimagining of what we think oxytocin is actually doing,” says Alexander Ophir, a neuroscientist at Cornell University who was not involved in the study. – Natalia Mesa, January 27, 2023

Well, it might be genes…. But gosh, if researchers can’t easily find a purely materialist explanation for devotion even in a rodent, why are we supposed to be listening to “the Voice of Science” on such topics where humans are concerned?

2 Replies to “Oxytocin — that supposedly creates attraction — not needed, new study shows

  1. 1
    EDTA says:

    >”by showing that voles without oxytocin receptors still form pair bonds.”

    To get the tax benefits of course.

  2. 2
    jerry says:

    A great book which I highly recommend is

    Habits of a Happy Brain.

    Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, & Endorphin Levels

    By Loretta Graziano Breuning

    Essentially it’s about getting rid of bad habits and developing good ones by boosting the right chemicals that make us feel good when avoiding/doing certain behaviors. Oxytocin is one of those chemicals.

    Referred to as DOSE.

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