German and Chinese researchers say that oxytocin, the hormone that leads to bonding between a mom and her child can also lead to the love bond between the man and his wife. Men with spiked levels of oxytocin which is secreted by the pituitary gland featured a newer attraction on their face while being with their partners with whom they have a romantic relationship. However, it was not equal for those strangers who were attractive according to the study results that were published online in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences journal.
The study also showed that not only the feelings of men but also their brains were also spiked with many areas that featured motivation and reward. According to Rene Hurlemann, Psychiatrist, University of Bonn located in Germany, lead author of the study, monogamy is very dear for humans and hence there needs to be some benefit regarding it. Rene also said that they expected their humans, especially the males to disseminate the genes. This would be the driving force behind the behaviour of male but the thing of consideration is what makes them to stay in relationship that is monogamous in nature? The answers of the study rely maintaining a diet rich in oxytocin that kindles dopamine which is a neurotransmitter. This has a strong link between the addiction, reward and motivation says the study.
The study when conducted with mammals found that only 3% to 5% had strong bonds between their pairs and major part of the study was made with prairie vole that is most studied. Based on the studies, the monogamous voles had more receptors of dopamine and the receptors of oxytocin were placed in the cortex and in other low regions in brain.
Among humans, this love hormone called as oxytocin is released while they hug, massage, make love or offer social support to each other. This makes them to trust each other and feel attached to one another as a response to chemical released in the body. Hurlemann along with his team considered 20 men who were involved in a long term relationship and has a high profile romantic life with their partners which showed that oxytocin levels were higher when men were with familiar women than strangers.
