Strong and handsome, intelligent and emotional, hard and empathetic, rich and successful.....women want modern men to be more than most men can provide. Now at least one wish of women could be fullfilled by German and British scientists: the neuropeptide oxytocin improved the ability of men to be more sensitive towards fellow men. Oxytocin is also known as a hormone which is released during sexual activities and orgasms and it is combined with emotions like love and confidence. A second important role it plays in activating labor pains when a baby is born. After the birth it strengthens child-mother-bindings.

In the recent study 48 male test persons were shown photographs of emotional situations (a crying child, a girl with its pet, mourning persons). They had to indicate how strong they felt empathie with the persons on the photographs. One half of the test persons were treated with nasal spray containing oxytocin and the other half with a placebo containing no hormone. The group which had received oxytocin showed a significant higher empathie (alike women) with the persons on the photographs than the control group. This did not mean, that the control group was unable to recognize rational the emotions depicted but there was a clear lack of emotional concernment.

Learing improved by emotions

In a second series of experiments the neuroscientists investigated the learning skills with and without oxytocin: the control group and the group of men treated with the nasal spray with the hormone had to solve simple memory tests. In case of wrong answers sudden feedback occured in the form of a face with a dispraising expression and in case of a right answer a smiling face appeared on the computer screen. The oxytocin group showed a higher sensibility towards the mimic feedback. A key role in the brain to evaluate emotional situations plays the amygdala, a region in the central parts of human brains.
Two female patients which also had been involved into the study suffered from a genetic disorder leading to an amygdala deficiency. They showed in all cases limited empathy. Thus the amygdale may play an important role in regulating the effects of oxytocin.

This new insight into the role of oxytocin could lead to a better understanding of psychiatric disorders like shizophrenia. It often causes loss of social contact abilities and withdrawal from social life.

But for all that: the Ages old discussion between men and women about emotions, empathie, love and confidence probably will never stop.

Sources:

- Journal of Neurosciences 2010: oi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5538-09.2010

- idw-online

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