Scared? Smell the oxytocin!
Nasal spray will help get rid of fear
Copper news
German scientists have demonstrated in humans how oxytocin – the so–called "love hormone" – contributes to the suppression of fear (University of Bonn, Oxytocin helps to better overcome fear - VM). The results of the study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry (Eckstein et al., Oxytocin Facilitates the Extinction of Conditioned Fear in Humans), may help in the future in the treatment of anxiety disorders.
Researchers from the University of Bonn invited 62 healthy men to take part in the experiment. The subjects were shown photographs of people and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed. When viewing 70 percent of the photos, a short unpleasant electric shock to the arm through the electrodes followed. This made it possible to associate certain images in the memory of volunteers with a sense of fear and anxiety. As a result, when the participants expected an electric shock, they were thrown into a cold sweat, and in those areas of the brain that were responsible for the formation of the emotion of fear, the level of activity significantly increased.
Then 50 percent of the volunteers received a dose of oxytocin by nasal spray injection, the rest received a placebo. As a result, in the experimental group, under the influence of oxytocin, the level of activity in the amygdala of the brain (the center responsible for the occurrence of fear) decreased significantly.
Previously, scientists from the United States have already shown in their studies that this hormone increases brain activity when processing social information in children with autism spectrum disorders. The new data, according to the authors of the study, will help to treat patients suffering from anxiety disorders more effectively in the future, as well as establish a more trusting relationship between the patient and the attending physician. However, the results obtained will need to be confirmed during large clinical trials.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru20.11.2014