The dark side of the cuddle chemical

Not many hormones make it into popular parlance. Testosterone has scaled those dizzy heights as has oestrogen. However, aside from these two leaders of their genre and despite their absolute importance to your daily functioning, most hormones would not make a “top ten popular chemicals” list. The exception to that is the hormone oxytocin.

Even if you are not intimately acquainted with oxytocins, you are probably at least thinking, “I’ve heard that somewhere before”. That is because, like its celebrity cousins testosterone and oestrogen, ocytocin is linked to sex.

Oxytocin is secreted post-orgasm and is thought to promote bonding between romantic couples. It is also stimulated by breast feeding and helps the bond between mother and child. This is just the beginning of what oxytocin can do.

Other research has shown that people who are given oxytocin tend to trust other people more. The hormone can also increase altruism, generosity, and generally make people more sociable.

No wonder that oxytocin has been given epithets like “the cuddle chemical” and why salespeople purchase oxytocin spray to make people trust them, no matter how unlikely that outcome may be. Yet you should not get too enamoured of oxytocin because it too has a dark side.

A new report on oxytocin has said that people who were given oxytocin and then played a game of chance with a fake opponent displayed more envy and gloating. This has led to a rethink about the role of oxytocin.

Rather than just being a “trust” or “cuddle” hormone, the theory now is that oxytocin actually promotes what are called “approach-related” emotions. These are emotions that involve wanting something as opposed to turning away from something.

Envy is an obvious approach-related emotion in that it is about wanting what someone else has. Gloating is also an approach-related emotion with a positive twist as it involves enjoying having more than someone else or enjoying their misfortune.

If oxytocin promotes approach-related emotions then it may also increase anger and aggression which are negative approach-related emotions. The researchers point out that this is important as if you gave a criminal with a tendency to aggression some oxytocin to make him more social you might end up enhancing his anger.

That means we can’t go ahead and treat a wide range of mood disorders with oxytocin before further research takes place. In the meantime too the name “cuddle chemical” might have to be changed to perhaps the “muddle chemical” or perhaps just the “heavy hormone”. Please, send in your better options.

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