Cuddle hormone Cuddling relieves pain

Cuddly hormone oxytocin has an analgesic effect
The hormone oxytocin not only strengthens the bond between mother and child, but also influences the behavior between partners. But the so-called "cuddle hormone" has much more impact. It also seems to relieve pain, as researchers have now found out.
Cuddly hormone with multiple effects
Oxytocin plays a major role in childbirth because it triggers contraction of the uterine musculature and induces labor. It is also important for a strong bond between mother and child as well as the mother's milk injection. Furthermore, the "cuddle hormone" also influences the behavior between partners and, in general, social interactions, by making them more capable of bonding and soothing. But the hormone can do much more. In recent years, scientific research has shown that ocytocin could help with muscle wasting and anorexia. And now researchers report that oxytocin may have a pain-relieving effect.

Cuddling relieves pain. Picture: detail-view-foto - fotolia

Painkilling effect of oxytocin discovered
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg and colleagues from other countries have discovered an analgesic effect of oxytocin and found that the release is not limited to blood, as reported in a statement by the Max Planck Society. but also regulated via the spinal cord. "We have been able to detect a new aspect of the oxytocin effect and have also discovered a new subpopulation of small oxytocin-producing neurons," explained director Peter Seeburg. "A small cell-type group of about 30 cells sends its nerve endings to the large neurons, causing oxytocin to enter the blood via the pituitary gland, as well as to the spinal cord, where oxytocin acts as a neurotransmitter to inhibit nerve cells."

New approach to the development of pain therapies
As the scientists report, they gained their knowledge through experiments with rats. Thus, animals with elevated oxytocin levels in the blood were less responsive to touch of an inflamed foot. The researchers suggested that this was due to a lower pain sensation. An inhibition of the oxytocin effect, however, increased the sensation of pain.

The experts assume that the subgroup of oxytocin-producing cells also exists in the human brain. "Presumably, the human oxytocin system is more complex and consists of more than 30 cells," says Seeburg. In addition, the function of these cells in humans is difficult to study. Nevertheless, the findings could be a new approach to the development of pain therapies. (Ad)