Scientists develop spray to make men more affectionate using 'cuddle' hormone oxytocin

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SO JUST WHAT IS THE 'CUDDLE CHEMICAL'?

Oxytocin is a mammalian hormone which evokes feelings of contentment and reduces anxiety.

It is best know for its roles in female reproduction and is released in large amounts during labour and breastfeeding. It also helps mothers to bond with their offspring.

The same hormone is even reported to help alleviate some symptoms of autism by encouraging sufferers to initiate social encounters.

Scientists have invented what women want in a man - the sensitivity spray.

They say it is capable of turning the most macho of hunks into a dewy-eyed baby-kisser who says all the right things and stops going down the pub.

Researchers of the Neuromudlation of Emotion - NEMO - faculty at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-University of Bonn say the spray uses the hormone oxytocin, sometimes called 'the cuddle chemical' as it stimulates affectionate feelings in humans.

The scientists worked with researchers at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge and the results of their work are published today FRI in the Journal of Neuroscience.

In experiments, 24 healthy men took nasal sprays containing oxytocin while 24 others received a placebo.

Afterwards the guinea pigs were shown 'emotionally loaded' photographs including a crying child, a young girl embracing a cat and a man in mourning.

The participants were than asked to describe the level of empathy they felt with the subjects in the pictures.
The oxytocin group showed significantly higher emotional empathy levels than those men who had taken the placebo,' said Dr. René Hurlemann in Bonn.

He said they reached the 'levels of sensitivity usually found in females.'

In a second experiment the participants had to answer simple questions on a computer. The right answers were accompanied by smiley faces, the wrong ones with frowns.

Dr Keith Kendrick of the Babraham Insititute said that the cuddle-drug recipients scored much higher as they responded to the friendly faces in an elevated way.

'Our study shows for the first time that the emotional projecting ability of oxytocin can be created,' added Dr. Hurlemann.

He said it may prove valuable in the treatment of schizophrenia, which is often accompanied by an inability to connect with others and social retreat.

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