There's nothing like the bliss of a new romance. And yet, many experiencing such rapture find it disrupted by a nagging question: How do we know our love will last? Newly published research suggests a possible answer: Get your oxytocin levels checked.
There's nothing like the bliss of a new romance. And yet, many experiencing such rapture find it disrupted by a nagging question: How do we know our love will last?
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Newly published research suggests a possible answer: Get your oxytocin levels checked.
A team of researchers led by Inna Schneiderman of the Gonda Brain Sciences Center of Israel's Bar-Ilan University have just published a study examining the role oxytocin, commonly called the "cuddle hormone," plays in the early stages of romantic relationships. While differentiating cause and effect is tricky, the researchers find a strong link between lasting relationships and high levels of the hormone.
Oxytocin, as they note in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, promotes trust, bonding and attachment — between adults, and between parents and their offspring. (Less appealingly, it can also promote ethnocentrism.)
Schneiderman's study featured 163 people in their early to mid-20s, 120 of whom had recently initiated a love affair. (On average, their relationship had begun 2.5 months prior to testing.) All had their blood tested for oxytocin levels.
"New lovers had substantially higher plasma levels of oxytocin, as compared to non-attached singles," the researchers report. "These findings are consistent with those reported for other mammals, particularly monogamous rodent species in which oxytocin has shown to play a critical role in the formation of pair bonds."
Article continues: http://nocamels.com/2012/02/valentines-day-research-hormones-tell-if-your-love-will-last/
Couple image via Shutterstock
