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| Someone needs to develop some cuddling skills. |
Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter in the brain that is released in response to skin-on-skin contact...it's the "cuddle horomone". It tends to increase during pregnancy and childbirth, and is responsible for those lovely cramps. Maybe it was the reason why I almost starting crying when I saw a little boy get on the school bus earlier this week. #oxytocinproblems
Research has been done with this chemical in mice and other animals: OT knockout mice don't recognize familiar others with repeated exposure and injection of OT into mice induces maternal behaviors in female virgin mice. Research with "orphaned" monkeys have lower OT levels and more disturbed social behavior (gaze and contact avoidance, attached to inanimate objects) compared to other monkeys who were raised by their mother.
This all ends up at the "Tend and Befriend" Hypothesis which states that when women are stressed that TEND to children more often and BEFRIEND more females in supportive social networks. Guys don't like to make friends when they're stressed. For example, I can definitely recall several instances in the minutes leading up to a test or a midterm where I bonded with the people (all girls that I can remember) around me in our last moments before the exam.
All in all, oxytocin is pretty important, especially for females and this apparently female version of the "fight or flight" phenomenon.
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