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Oxytocin is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide normally produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary. [4] Present in animals since early stages of evolution, in humans it plays roles in behavior that include social bonding, love, reproduction, childbirth, and the period after childbirth.
[48] Once the men returned home, it was found that oxytocin levels were higher in those men who had hunted for longer periods of time. As a result of the longer time period spent hunting, the increased levels of oxytocin were thought to be interconnected with familial social contact dating back to humans’ evolutionary past. [citation needed]
Oxytocin is released when a mother cares for her child, making the interaction pleasurable. Mothers that report high levels of infant-mother bonding and demonstrate responsive and sensitive parenting generally show increased levels of OT and brain reward center activation during play sessions [1] .
During human parturition, the quantifiable level of blood plasma oxytocin rises: it becomes twice as much during the initial phase of dilation and continues to increase until the second stage of labor. [36] Oxytocin furthermore induces uterine contractions in mothers following childbirth which helps in the prevention of bleeding. [37]
The following is a list of hormones found in Homo sapiens.Spelling is not uniform for many hormones. For example, current North American and international usage uses [citation needed] estrogen and gonadotropin, while British usage retains the Greek digraph in oestrogen and favours the earlier spelling gonadotrophin.
A contraction stress test (CST) is performed near the end of pregnancy (34 weeks' gestation) to determine how well the fetus will cope with the contractions of childbirth. The aim is to induce contractions and monitor the fetus to check for heart rate abnormalities using a cardiotocograph. A CST is one type of antenatal fetal surveillance ...
Similar to oxytocin, analogues bind to oxytocin receptors found along the muscles of the uterus and act as an agonist. During pregnancy, the number of oxytocin receptors increase until reaching their peak near completion of the pregnancy. An important note is that not all analogs of oxytocin work as an receptor agonist or as a uterotonic.
Due to the similarity of the two hormones, there is cross-reaction: oxytocin has a slight antidiuretic function, and high levels of AVP can cause uterine contractions. [5] [6] In common with most active peptides, both hormones are synthesised as larger protein precursors that are enzymatically converted to their mature forms.