Posted by Lorraine on October 31, 2001, at 13:42:03
In reply to Re: hanging in there Eliz, Judy,, posted by shelliR on October 28, 2001, at 23:14:38
Shelli:
In light of our discussion re sex and committed relationships-- I found this interesting:
"In addition, women who were currently involved in a committed relationship experienced greater oxytocin increases in response to positive emotions than single women. The researchers speculate that a close, regular relationship may influence the responsiveness of the hormone, said Turner.
These preliminary findings bring up some intriguing questions, said Teresa McGuinness, MD, PhD, UCSF clinical psychiatry faculty member and co-author of the paper. Because oxytocin is released in men and women during sexual orgasm, it may be involved in adult bonding, said Turner. There is also speculation that in addition to facilitating lactation and the birthing process, the hormone facilitates the emotional bond between mother and child. "
Here's the link, which also speculated that oxytocin may be involved in anti-depressant action as well as the ability to bond or socially connect with others. It is invovled with breast feeding as well, which for me was pretty obvious--I was positively euphoric and knew it was chemical, but didn't know which chemical. So suppose the part of the drive for sex is for the oxytocin that it produces and then you have children and start releasing this hormone just in terms of this relationship, I'd imagine that the need for sex would go down. Kind of interesting, huh?
poster:Lorraine
thread:67742
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011025/msgs/82779.html