Psychological perspective of Oxytocin

Where Psychology meets Chemistry ~ The story of Oxytocin

Are you thinking of taking oxytocin as a drug after going through the article so far?

Synthetic oxytocin is often sold as an important medication under the trade names Pitocin and Syntocinon and also as generic oxytocin. In the gastrointestinal tract oxytocin is destroyed, and therefore it must be administered by injection or as nasal spray. The hormone has a very short half-life of typically about three minutes in the blood. Oxytocin given intravenously does not enter the brain in considerable quantities – it is excluded from the brain by the blood-brain barrier. There is no evidence for momentous CNS entry of the hormone by nasal spray. Often to stimulate breastfeeding, oxytocin nasal sprays have been used but the efficacy of this approach is uncertain.
In order to induce labour and to support labour in case of non-progression of parturition injected oxytocin analogues are often used. It has largely replaced ergotamine as the most important agent to increase uterine tone in acute postpartum haemorrhage. Oxytocin is famous in veterinary medicine to facilitate birth and to increase milk production. The tocolytic agent atosiban (Tractocile®) performs as an antagonist of oxytocin receptors; this drug is registered in many countries to suppress premature labour between 24 and 33 weeks of gestation. Side-effects are lesser for this drug than drugs previously used for this purpose (salbutamol , ritodrine and terbutaline).

Medication

Concerned about side effects of oxytocin when taken externally?

When used at recommended doses, Oxytocin is relatively safe. Potential side effects may comprise: Central nervous system: seizures , Subarachnoid hemorrhage; Cardiovascular: blood pressure, Increased heart rate, systemic venous return, cardiac output and arrhythmias; Genitourinary: pelvic hematoma, Impaired uterine blood flow, tetanic uterine contractions, uterine rupture, postpartum hemorrhage.

References

  • Wikipedia page on Oxytocin
  • World of Molecules page on Oxytocin
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  • Jankowski et al. (2004) Oxytocin in cardiac ontogeny. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101:13074-9 online PMID 15316117.
  • Walenty Hartwig – Practical Endocrinology, ISBN 83-200-1415-8.
  • Hollander E, Novotny S, Hanratty M et al. (2003). “Oxytocin infusion reduces repetitive behaviors in adults with autistic and Asperger’s disorders”. Neuropsychopharmacology 28 (1): 193-8. doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1300021. PMID 12496956.
  • Hollander E, Bartz J, Chaplin W et al. (2007). “Oxytocin increases retention of social cognition in Kendrick KM, The Neurobiology of Social Bonds.
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  • Weisman O, Zagoory-Sharon O, Feldman R (2012). “Intranasal oxytocin administration is reflected in human saliva”. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 37 (9): 1582–6.
  • Dale, H. H (1906). “On some physiological actions of ergot”. The Journal of Physiology. 34 (3): 163–206.
  • Corey E (2012). “Oxytocin”. Molecules and Medicine. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-36173-3.
  • omura S, Ito T, Yamamoto E, Sumigama S, Iwase A, Okada M, Shibata K, Ando H, Ino K, Kikkawa F, Mizutani S (August 2005). “Gene regulation and physiological function of placental leucine aminopeptidase/oxytocinase during pregnancy”. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. 1751 (1): 19–25.
  • Mizutani S, Yokosawa H, Tomoda Y (July 1992). “Degradation of oxytocin by the human placenta: effect of selective inhibitors”. Acta Endocrinologica. 127 (1): 76–80.
  • Baumgartner T, Heinrichs M, Vonlanthen A, Fischbacher U, Fehr E (May 2008). “Oxytocin shapes the neural circuitry of trust and trust adaptation in humans”. Neuron. 58 (4): 639–50.
  • Carmichael MS, Warburton VL, Dixen J, Davidson JM (February 1994). “Relationships among cardiovascular, muscular, and oxytocin responses during human sexual activity”. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 23 (1): 59–79.
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