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Friday, February 17, 2017

Nasally-induced fatherly love



Model of Oxytocin Molecule   (Image by MindZiper)
Why do some fathers literally embrace their babies, while others hide behind a newspaper? Could it be the difference between a little or a lot of oxytocin?

Oxytocin, otherwise known as “the love hormone,” ebbs and flows within new mothers.  Research shows that new fathers also “undergo hormonal changes that are likely to facilitate increased empathy and motivation
to care for their children.”

And if not, there’s a spray for that.  When dads received nasal squirts of oxytocin, their “MRI brain scans revealed… increased activity in brain areas associated with reward and empathy when looking at pictures of their toddlers.”

Oxytocin therapy might therefore help to bridge fatherly-bonding gaps.  This could be instrumental to a child’s healthy development.  Hands-on fatherhood has been known to enhance childhood resistance to “illness and death.”    

Resources
http://www.healthbanks.com/PatientPortal/MyPractice.aspx?UAID={3832435F-CB0D-493C-AEB1-E9AF6161A975}&TabID={X}&ArticleID=719709 

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