Plan B Forum

Nose spray makes men 'sensitive'

Emma Wilkinson
Health reporter, BBC News

A nasal spray can make men more in tune with other people's feelings, say a team of German and UK researchers.

They found that inhaling the "cuddle hormone" oxytocin made men just as empathetic as women.

The study in 48 volunteers also showed that the spray boosted the ability to learn from positive feedback.

Writing in the Journal of Neuroscience, the researchers said the spray may be useful for boosting behaviour therapy in conditions such as schizophrenia.

Oxytocin is a naturally produced hormone, most well-known for triggering labour pains and promoting bonding between mother and baby.

But it has also been shown to play a role in social relations, sex and trust.

Study leader Professor Keith Kendrick, a neuroscientist at Cambridge University, said by giving the hormone nasally, it quickly reaches the brain.

In the first part of the study, half the men received a nose spray containing oxytocin and half were given a dummy spray.

They were then shown photos of emotionally charged situations including a crying child, a girl hugging her cat, and a grieving man, and were asked questions about the depth of feeling they had towards the subjects.

Those who had the hormone spray had markedly higher levels of empathy - of a similar magnitude to those only usually seen in women who are naturally more sensitive to the feelings of others.

Neither group were able to accurately guess whether they had received the oxytocin or the dummy spray.

In a second experiment, the researchers measured "socially motivated learning" where the volunteers were asked to do a difficult observation test and were shown an approving face if they got the answer right and an unhappy face if they got it wrong.

In these types of experiments, people generally learn faster if they get positive feedback but those who had taken the oxytocin spray responded even better to facial feedback than those in the placebo group.

Professor Kendrick said the oxytocin spray may prove to be useful in people with conditions associated with reduced social approachability and social withdrawal, such as schizophrenia.

And other researchers are already looking at its potential use in autism.

"The bottom line is it improved the ability of people to learn when they had positive feedback and that is pretty important because this might help improve the effectiveness of behavioural therapy or even be useful in people with learning difficulties."

Professor Gareth Leng from Edinburgh University said the research used some cleverly-designed tests.

He added there has been a lot of interest recently on oxytocin and social behaviour.

"This study is the latest of several that suggest that intranasal oxytocin seems to 'sensitise' people to become more aware of social cues from other individuals - and more likely to be sympathetic to them."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/h ... 653500.stm

Published: 2010/04/30 10:59:18 GMT

@meric@nwom@n wrote:Pulling nose hairs makes men sensitive too.

@meric@nwom@n wrote:Pulling nose hairs makes men sensitive too.

tyro wrote:

@meric@nwom@n wrote:Pulling nose hairs makes men sensitive too.

You have been everywhere and done everything haven’t you?

The Hen wrote:I'd imagine ear hairs would also stimulate the same sensitivities.

And let's not consider pubic hair caught in zippers. I can hear the 'sensitivities' as I post this.

Daisy wrote:

The Hen wrote:I'd imagine ear hairs would also stimulate the same sensitivities.

And let's not consider pubic hair caught in zippers. I can hear the 'sensitivities' as I post this.

They should at least trim the stuff, if not shave it as a courtesy anyway

The Hen wrote:The last time I tried to shave it as a courtesy, Gob ran screaming from the bathroom as I chased him with the cut-throat.

:twisted:

Daisy wrote:

The Hen wrote:The last time I tried to shave it as a courtesy, Gob ran screaming from the bathroom as I chased him with the cut-throat.

:twisted:

Hehehe... though really, picking a pube out of your teeth can really kill the moment.

"Yeah OK lets just cuddle"

@meric@nwom@n wrote:Now that is pretty disgusting.

Timster wrote:

@meric@nwom@n wrote:Now that is pretty disgusting.

Would you care to clarify that? What is "disgusting"?

Oral sex? Shaving one's pubic hairs? Enjoying it? Getting a pubic hair in one's teeth?

Or just talking about the whole business in a frank and candid way?

@meric@nwom@n wrote:

Timster wrote:

@meric@nwom@n wrote:Now that is pretty disgusting.

Would you care to clarify that? What is "disgusting"?

Oral sex? Shaving one's pubic hairs? Enjoying it? Getting a pubic hair in one's teeth?

Or just talking about the whole business in a frank and candid way?

Homer.

Timster wrote:

@meric@nwom@n wrote: DOH! I hadn't considered that angle...