Oxytocin is not the primary driver of the sensations associated with forming pairs among mammals.
Female rats continue to get pregnant despite being deprived of oxytocin
A recent study conducted on prairie mice concluded that oxytocin is not the main or only driver of feelings associated with forming pairs or the care that mothers provide to their children, which prompted experts to reconsider the role of the “love hormone” in basic life behaviors, despite depriving mice of the presence of oxytocin receptors in their bodies. However, they had no problem mating with other mice of the same species that had not undergone any modification.
TOKYO - Oxytocin is known as the "love hormone" for its key role in romantic relationships between couples and in the care mothers provide to their offspring, but a recent study of prairie mice re-examined its role.
The study showed that despite the removal of the receptors associated with this hormone, the prairie mice were still able to establish strong paired relationships, as well as the females continuing to carry and care for their young.
Prairie mice are one of the rare mammalian species whose paired bonds last a lifetime, making them very suitable for studies of similar topics.
In previous studies, the rats, after being given a drug that stopped the secretion of the hormone oxytocin, became lonely, while the females were unable to produce milk for their young.
Despite the removal of the oxytocin receptors, the prairie voles were still able to form strong bonds as pairs
Psychiatrist Devanand Manoli and neurobiologist Nirau Shah worked differently in this study, creating genetically engineered wild rats in a way that deprives them of the presence of oxytocin receptors in their bodies.
The result came as a surprise to them, as the genetically modified mice did not face any problem in mating with other mice of the same kind that had not undergone any modification, while the modified female mice had no difficulty in caring for their young.
The test result was considered an indication that oxytocin is not the primary or only driver of feelings associated with forming pairs or the care mothers provide to their children.
"Genetics has proven that there is no single point of disruption for behaviors that are absolutely essential to the survival of a species," Devanand Manoli, an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco, told AFP.
On the other hand, the research proved that depriving one of the partners of the pair from oxytocin receptors recorded negative effects, according to the study, which was published in the scientific journal “Neuron”.
Genetically modified male mice that were mated to unmodified females did not show the violence that was usually recorded when they encountered other females.
And while the transgenic females were able to produce and care for young, some of them had fewer young, and fewer of them survived, compared to the number of young of unmodified female mice.
In addition, the weight of the pups given birth to the modified females was lower than the pups of the unmodified rats, indicating that the pregnancies of the genetically modified mothers were not healthy enough.
The researchers pointed out that the experiment included only pairs with one limb modified and the other with a “wild” type, explaining that pairs consisting of exclusively modified mice could provide different results.
Pairs made up of exclusively modified mice can provide different results
Pairs made up of exclusively modified mice can provide different results
In any case, the study showed that the hormone oxytocin has a different role in various behaviors.
Animals that grew up without oxytocin receptors may have developed "other compensatory methods" that helped them mate and help their young develop, says Stanford University professor Shah.
The study indicated that oxytocin is only one of the genetic factors that control social behavior.
"I think our study shows that there are many ways that these very complex behaviors are regulated," Manoli said.
Oxytocin has been used in some cases to treat attachment disorders and other neurological and psychological conditions, but scientific information regarding its effectiveness is still limited.
Shah and Manoli said they hoped to find additional information about hormones and other receptors that play a role in mating and mother-to-child care.
"These other methods may be used as new therapeutic targets," Manoli stressed.
The peptide hormone or oxytocin is partially secreted by neurons beside the ventricle in the hypothalamus region and is transported from the hypothalamus to the posterior part of the pituitary gland via neurons. This hormone is stored in the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland and is used when the body needs it. This hormone has a special importance in the process of childbirth, and the importance of this hormone does not lie only in its great role in the mother’s relationship with her child and the intimate relationship between men and women, but rather it transcends it to other functions.
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