A new study of prairie voles shows that they can not only tell when a member of their family has been hurt, they also show empathy.

Prairie voles mate for life and live in family groups (although they may have sex outside of the pair bond).

Larry Young (one of the original researchers who discovered oxytocin's role in animal bonding) and James Burkett of Emory University gave shocks to some voles in the family and then returned them. The other voles tried to soothe the ones that had been shocked by licking them.

I think it's pretty cool that this study showed that animals share some of humans' "higher emotions."

And, of course, research has identified the oxytocin system as a possible cause of or influence on autism for several years. Maybe this is a way scientists could study autism? The article quotes Larry Young:

"Many complex human traits have their roots in fundamental brain processes that are shared among many other species," Young said, according to the publication. "We now have the opportunity to explore in detail the neural mechanisms underlying empathetic responses in a laboratory rodent with clear implications for humans."

What a study about empathy in animals may be able to tell us about autism in humans

via GIPHY

This morning, while I was lying in bed, our cat sat on my chest, purred and licked my face. It's a cute little quirk that I love about him. I know our cat loves me in his unique kitty way.

I've written before about the studies showing that dogs show higher oxytocin levels after they cuddle with their people. And, because people and dogs have the same oxytocin response, you can say that they both feel love. Now, research sponsored by the BBC shows that cats also have an oxytocin response when they're with their people -- it's just not as strong.

Oxytocin levels went up 12 percent in cats after they played with their owners. Oxytocin levels in dogs went up 57.2 percent. So, you could say that your dog loves you five times more than your cat. Hey, we know dogs are easy.

There is something I would add, based on my personal experience. Oxytocin levels go up during positive social interactions. It's a function of being comforted/comfortable. I would bet that cats' attachment to their owners is not as strong as dogs'. That is, the oxytocin response is more tightly connected to social memory in dogs than in cats. Just my personal theory.

Read the article in Bustle: http://www.bustle.com/articles/138786-dogs-love-their-owners-more-than-cats-do-but-that-probably-doesnt-surprise-you

Admission: I was a hippie (well, a semi-hippie). In the early 1970s I lived in my van, hitchhiked around and asked people on the street, "Do you have a place we can crash?"

I still clearly remember a time I was hitchhiking with a boyfriend. A guy picked us up and we smoked a joint. As we were riding along, this guy said, "Isn't this cool? We're sitting here together like we've been friends for years."

It was true. There was no feeling of nervousness, anxiety or constraint with this stranger.

I've often thought that marijuana, at its best, activated the oxytocin system. Here's research showing  that that is the case. A study by Daniele Piomelli, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine, found that -- in mice -- " it is social interaction between mice plus oxytocin—the hormone involved in social bonding—that drive cannabinoid activity in the animals’ brains."

According to the article,

The finding may also point to a possible treatment for autism spectrum disorders, which can involve social-interaction difficulties. (The team initially homed in on the interaction of oxytocin and anandamide (an endocannabinoid) while studying autism mouse model of autism.)

I'm not sure this would necessarily work for people on the spectrum, nor for those who experience social anxiety. Although my experience in that car was very positive, marijuana more often than not makes me feel paranoid and more anxious around other people. There might be something different in my brain that inhibits the pleasant social effect.

Read the article in The Scientist here.

By Lauren Penrod

Why is there an entire holiday dedicated to bringing your dog to work? Because it's good for the pets and the people. Having dogs in the workplace has been shown to decrease work-related stress levels and can even increase worker productivity.

That's because when people interact with dogs, it increases their levels of relaxing, calming brain chemicals like oxytocin. One small study showed that both people and their dogs had elevated levels of oxytocin when they interacted. But there are plenty of other studies showing that oxytocin goes up during positive social interactions with people, so why shouldn't it be the same with dogs.

What is rarely discussed, however, is the impact this can have on a business, particularly small startups to mid-sized businesses. Aside from happy workers, the benefits of animal-related happiness extend to the inner workings of the company. Allowing dogs in the workplace is pretty much a freebie to employers, while increasing productivity. How's that for ROI?

Why?

A recent study from the Virginia Commonwealth University found that employees who brought their dogs to work experienced:

• Lower stress levels throughout the work day
• Higher levels of job satisfaction and perceived positive organizational support: Employees feel that the employer cares about his or her personal and professional development.
• Increased communication between employees: Dogs are an easy thing to chat about
• Health benefits and decreased absenteeism.
• Researchers found that groups with a dog in the room rated their group members higher on trust and team cohesion measures than those with no dog.
• Increased productivity: Having a dog reminds employees to stand up and stretch, take the dog outside, and to take breaks every so often Studies indicate this increases productivity.

Not only are you increasing productivity and workflow, you are genuinely tricking the mind into increased levels of happiness, and satisfaction. Increased employee satisfaction means employee retention, and less money spent unnecessarily training to backfill positions of lost employees.

High Returns, and Low Costs

The average start-up has little to no expendable income for frivolous things like kegerators in the break room, popcorn stations, or free gym memberships. So if your company isn’t quite to the point where you can provide free birthday vacations, unlimited Apple products, or all-inclusive gym memberships, bringing a dog to work is low cost to the employer and has added benefit to both parties. No longer will the employee have to pay for puppy day care, or worry about hurrying home to let their dog outside.

When you compare the cost of allowing dogs in the workplace, with other stress-relieving benefits, such as paid or discounted health and fitness passes, the cost-to-benefit ratio is a landslide win for the dogs. For example, if you have 100 employees, and you provide each of them with a gym membership, the annual cost could range from $12,000 to $36,000.

The average cost of dogs at work is increased "break time." But break time can not only increase employee focus, but improve employees' overall health, lowering absenteeism and health-care costs.

Plenty of research has shown the ROI on providing benefits instead of cash to employees. Millennials are no longer looking for companies with the highest salary (although it doesn’t hurt either, let’s be honest). They are looking for benefits. And not the type of benefits our parents and grandparents were looking for, rather, work-life balance benefits, fun benefits that prevent us from feeling like a machine for the man- ultimately something that separates one company from another. Keeping goodemployees happy is pays off in improved retention, and it’s the continued ability to grow and become better with the help of invested employees.

Staying out of the Dog House

Preparing for potential issues and discussing them ahead of time is one way to reduce shock and over-excitement.

There are genuine concerns when inviting furry friends into the office space, so you may want to try to integrate this policy slowly by testing it out first.

Some things to be aware of and prepare for are:

• Determine how many people in the office have allergies to dogs.
• Determine whether this is a cultural office change that employees desire
• Have specific requirements of owners:

○     Leash-trained

○     Well-behaved

○     House-broken

○     Owners must clean up after pets inside, and outside

○     All vaccinations up to date

○     Well-groomed

○     Gets along well with other animals

• Determine how many pets are allowed in the office on a daily basis- and a maximum capacity for the animals.

Getting Started       

Keeping in mind that there are legal reasons for why someone would need their animal next to them at all times, such as the case with service, dogs. But for the remainder of the animals, there ought to be protocol when implementing this type of company benefit.

Here are a few ideas of how to launch a dog atmosphere in your office:

• Have a test pet. Only one pet per week for 4 weeks. This could be used as a lottery system, and the winner gets to bring their dog.
• Start with a manager's dog. This dog could potentially have less interaction with employees, but enough to test how productive employees would still react.
• Each person can bring the dog on one 10 minute walk per week.
• Start with hypoallergenic dogs. Determine if there are any people with allergies in the office.
• Create pet-free zones, a few areas where the dogs are not allowed. Examples may be: bathrooms, a section of the building where those who are allergic sit, or in the break room.

Generally knowing whether this is a cultural shift your office is interested in should be relatively apparent. Companies that have integrated dogs into their office have reported a significant impact on the hiring process. Evidently many companies that have dogs in the office tend to hire individuals with the same interests and overall acceptance of animals. This has led to a better vibe, uniqueness, relationship building, and overall familiarity within the office- leading to higher retention of employees.

It sounds like these policies will benefit everyone involved. Now go work like a dog!

Lauren Penrod is the mother to two poodle mixes and is expecting her first child in November. She is born and raised in Boise, Idaho and spends her free time freelance writing and planning too far into the future. 

Pheromones are substances that are released by one animal into the environment that other animals take in through the nose or mouth that "communicate" by changing the physiological state of the second animal (bugs, etc).

Animals have something called the vomero nasal organ that is a primary receptor for pheromones. Humans have this organ, but most scientists think it's vestigial. There is evidence that it is not. For example, women living together in dorms tend to have their periods synchronize. This could be due to keeping similar schedules or living in the same environment. But it could be due to them inhaling molecules of each others' hormones.

Oxytocin is both a brain chemical and a hormone. So it is possible that molecules produced in our bodies could be exhaled and then inhaled by other people.

Whether or not this is true, most things that trigger the oxytocin response (a positive social response to another person) probably come via facial expression, body language and tone of voice.

Here's a scientific paper (pretty readable) that examines the evidence that the human vomeronasal organ may be an organ of human communication.

http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/content/26/4/433.full.pdf+html

The author, Michael Meredith of Florida State University, comes down on the side of no. But we continually find out more about the human body and what makes us tick. Scientists have discovered, for example, that what they used to call "junk DNA" -- because they didn't know what it did -- turns out to influence gene expression.

I think a lot of people, including scientists, get squeamish about the idea of humans sniffing each other like, well, animals. To me, the jury is still out.

PHOTO: Mark Watson

We tend to think of bonding and love as deep emotions to be shared with a few. This interview about a positive psychologist reminds us that we can get an oxytocin boost almost any time by making a quick, warm connection. From the story:

In her new book Love 2.0: How Our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything We Feel, Think, Do, and Become, Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D., suggests that true love isn't just about romance, companionship, or fondness; fundamentally, it springs from something she calls "micromoments of shared positive emotion."

Kendra Velzen received $40,000 from Grand Valley State University because her school refused to let her carry her pet guinea pig everywhere on campus.  The 28-year-oldVelzen suffers from depression and uses a pacemaker. Grand Valley State let her keep her pet in the dorm, but barred it from some places including the cafeteria.

I blogged about Velzen's case when she first brought it. Those of us who depend on pets for comfort tend to be on her side; other people think it's ridiculous or even offensive to have animals around.

The story was picked up by Gawker, a site dedicated to snark. So it's not surprising that it and the comments are pretty mean.

Whether you choose to read the original news article or Gawker could say something about whether you like to be kind or not. Think about it.

 

 

There's been plenty of research showing that when people inhale oxytocin, they tend to have more positive social behavior: trust, generosity, empathy and communication. But if taking one whiff of oxytocin can make you nicer, will taking oxytocin regularly keep you nicer? If you take a bigger dose, will it make you even nicer?

U.C. Davis researchers wanted to find out the long-term effects of taking oxytocin, so they studied prairie voles, the monogamous rodents that first demonstrated the positive effects of this brain chemical.

 The U.C. Davis research team, led by Karen L. Bales, treated a group of 89 male prairie voles with low, medium or high doses of inhaled oxytocin. The medium dose was roughly equivalent to the amount given to human subjects in lab studies.

They began giving the prairie voles one daily dose of oxytocin when they were weaned at 21 days old, and continued to give it to them through day 42, the time they reach sexual maturity.

"We were trying to approximate ages 12 to 17 in humans," Bales told me in an email. Because so many parents of children with autism spectrum disorder are turning to oxytocin products they've bought over the internet in hopes of increasing their kids' sociability, the short-lived voles offer a way to model the possible effects of long-term dosing of an adolescent.

 The study also wanted to look at possible dose-dependent differences: If one dose creates an effect, it doesn't necessarily follow that a different dose will create the same effect. In fact, she cites research showing that in schizophrenic patients, 20 IU of oxytocin increased emotion recognition, while a dose of 10 IU actually decreased it.

There was one troubling result: The male voles treated with low or medium doses of oxytocin were actually less likely to bond with a female -- and this effect lasted two weeks after treatment stopped. That could be equivalent to years in a human life.

 The female voles in the study also seemed to be less interested in mothering.

 Bales thinks that this effect could be attributable to down-regulation of the oxytocin receptors or oxytocin-producing neurons; that is, with external oxytocin flooding the receptors, they might become desensitized, while the oxytocin-producing brain cells might lower their production because it's not needed. It also could be attributable to changes in the vasopressin system, she suggests. Vasopressin is another brain chemical very similar to oxytocin that seems to be more important in male bonding.

 She says, "I originally thought that we would see the most changes with the highest dose of oxytocin, and that would be because of flooding oxytocin receptors and binding to vasopressin receptors.  But since we had the most changes at the lowest dose, that seems less likely.  Males do seem to be especially sensitive to developmental exposure to oxytocin...perhaps because they rely less on it normally?"

 Bales' work is with prairie voles, not people. But so far, what vole research taught us about oxytocin is quite applicable to humans. We think we're so different from this tiny, humble creature. But in fact, the genetic difference between Homo sapiens and other mammals is very small.

 It's not clear how applicable the results of this study might be to older humans, but certainly the body's receptors are constantly in a state of flux, responding to external changes. And it's well known that treatment with a hormone can cause the body to produce less of it.

 Bales plans to do more studies using voles of different ages, and also to look at different lengths of treatment.

 Meanwhile, if you are self-experimenting with oxytocin, it's a good idea to keep your dosing acute: once in a while with plenty of time for your body to go back to its natural state.

 Here's the ref: Bales, K.L. et al. Chronic Intranasal Oxytocin Causes Long-Term Impairments in Partner Preference Formation in Male Prairie Voles. Biological Psychiatry 2012.

No, but not all of its effects turn you into an angel of bliss.

Science bloggers had a blast a few weeks ago, caviling at Paul Zak's Moral Molecule thesis, digging up an old study showing that soldiers defending their own troops had elevated levels of oxytocin.

Now, a new study, cleverly named The Herding Hormone, finds that oxytocin makes it more likely we'll conform to our group's standards.

First, men in the study were divided into two groups. Half the study participants inhaled oxytocin and half placebo. Then, they were shown photographs and asked to rate the people's attractiveness. While they were doing the ratings, they were also shown the ratings given by both their group and the other group (in-group and out-group).

Adjusting for various things, those who had inhaled oxytocin were more likely to conform to the ratings of their own group.  

This is not surprising; we humans are social animals. In primitive times, physical survival depended on cooperation and mutual support of the tribe or extended family. Today, while we can maintain a single household and make a living without deep ties, we become physically stressed without affection.

Oxytocin helps us remember who we know and trust. It creates a bond deep enough for two parents to stay together despite toothpaste in the sink, angry words and the sheer drudgery of raising kids. And that deep bond lets mothers and fathers hold their children through the tears, dirty diapers and teen-age years.

So, evidently, it also helps us get along by going along sometimes.

Interestingly, the study was led by Mirre Stallen, who is with the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam. (Zak also comes from the business world.) Business, commerce, industry, etc. are all based on cooperation and collaboration. Sometimes in the workplace, you can't be the squeaky wheel. So, a little oxytocin helps with that.

Lindsay Abrams of The Atlantic has an excellent write-up of the experiment with more detail.

Read more:

Dose Soldiers with Oxytocin

Oxytocin Not Always So Goody-Goody

Oxytocin, Chemical of Connection and Envy

PHOTO: twid

Science blogger and journalist Ed Yong has gotten a lot of attention the past couple of days for complaining that oxytocin isn't a love drug, after all.

Yong points out that studies have shown that oxytocin is also linked to envy and gloating, and it also can increase aggression against individuals outside one's group.

I think in his attempt to be contrarian, he's deliberately understating the many positive effects shown in many studies. For example, he mentiones Jennifer Bartz, who has found that oxytocin's effect is influenced by one's mindset. He doesn't mention that she's also found that oxytocin improved the ability of people with autism spectrum disorder to pick up on the emotional content of speech -- effects that lasted more than a week.

Yong writes,

In many ways, oxytocin epitomises what happens when enthusiasm, salesmanship, and optimism runs ahead of evidence and careful experimentation. The true moral of the moral molecule may be that ideas that are too cleanly packaged are probably just fragments.

Oxytocin hype is building, and people are turning to the internet to buy oxytocin products because we are a society in desperate need of better connection. But I wonder why people are so excited (relieved?) to hear that better bonding isn't possible.

PHOTO Bbaunach