The neuropeptide oxytocin is a special messenger substance that nerve cells use to communicate with each other. It is acting as both a neurotransmitter and a hormone and is best known for promoting ...

The brain not only communicates through fast electrical impulses, it also relies on slower, more diffuse chemical signals that modulate our emotional and social states over time. A study led by the ...

Confocal microscopy image showing oxytocin (green) and vasopressin (red) circuits in the mouse hypothalamus, both of which are highly relevant for regulating social behaviors in mammals. The brain ...

A new study from Yale School of Medicine has found that a single dose of the hormone oxytocin, delivered via nasal spray, can enhance brain activity while processing social information in children ...

Neuropeptides are brain and body signaling molecules that shape emotion, pain, metabolism, cognition, and immune function.

Maternity wards routinely use synthetic oxytocin to kick-start the birth process and keep it moving. That is the main reason why this hormone is so widely known. It is less well known that, after ...

You’ve probably heard of dopamine, oxytocin, and cortisol. Maybe you know dopamine has something to do with feeling good, oxytocin is linked to bonding, and cortisol is that stress chemical you’d ...