stress-induced social anxiety behaviors tagged posts

The effects of Oxytocin on Social Anxiety depend on Location, location, location

Mouse
Working with California mice, UC Davis researches showed that the “love hormone” oxytocin can sometimes have antisocial effects depending on where in the brain it is made. (Mark Chappell/UC Riverside)

Finding a better route to treating social anxiety disorder may lie in another part of the brain, researchers suggest. The findings of the study show that oxytocin produced in the BNST increases stress-induced social anxiety behaviors in mice. This may provide an explanation as to why oxytocin can sometimes have antisocial effects.

Studies have long suggested that oxytocin – a hormone that can also act as a neurotransmitter – regulates prosocial behavior such as empathy, trust and bonding, which led to its popular labeling as the “love hormone...

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