Oxytocin

This detailed book explores techniques for further elucidating the peripheral and central roles of oxytocin as well as techniques key to oxytocin receptor-related drug discovery. The first set of chapters explore this neuropeptide's peripheral and central effects, such as regulation of myometrial contraction, induction of cardioprotective effects, and the facilitation of pro-social behaviors. The book then continues by delving into a comprehensive pharmacological characterization of oxytocin receptor ligands and ligands of other key receptors such as the vasopressin receptor family. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Oxytocin: Methods and Protocols is an ideal guide for researchers seeking to further our knowledge of the varied and power effects of oxytocin within the central nervous system.

What role does oxytocin play in the many changes that occur during pregnancy and breastfeeding designed to make mothers better mothers? How does birth, breastfeeding, and skin-to-skin contact affect oxytocin release? How do birth interventions--epidurals, Cesarean sections, oxytocin infusions, and medications--impact oxytocin release? And how does oxytocin release (or lack of) impact the mother and baby? After many years of researching oxytocin, author, physician, and researcher Dr. Kerstin Uvnas-Moberg presents compelling scientific data that demonstrates the important role oxytocin plays in motherhood. In this book Dr. Uvnas-Moberg describes how oxytocin helps mothers access an inborn female competence that helps them transition to motherhood and give birth more easily, feel better after birth, breastfeed with fewer problems, and establish a good connection with their children. She also explains the impact oxytocin release has on infants--helping them become better at handling stressful situations and impacting their future health. This book provides scientific data to demonstrate that oxytocin plays an important role far beyond stimulation of uterine contractions during birth and milk ejection during breastfeeding, including the following: Oxytocin is a signaling substance in the brain that when released during birth, skin-to-skin contact, and breastfeeding induces important physiological and psychological adaptations in the mother and infant. The way we give birth, handle, feed, and interact with our infants may influence the release of oxytocin and the development of the both short-term and long-term oxytocin-linked effects in both mothers and infants. Medical interventions during birth may influence the release of oxytocin and the development of the oxytocin-linked effects. Anyone working with pregnant and breastfeeding mothers will find this book enlightening and thought-provoking. It will give you evidenced-based information to change practices to protect oxytocin release during birth and in the postpartum period and to better inform new mothers about the role oxytocin plays in pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding; the importance of natural birth, skin-to-skin contact, and breastfeeding; and the impact of birth interventions."

This volume collects cutting-edge expert reviews in the oxytocin field and will be of interest to a broad scientific audience ranging from social neuroscience to clinical psychiatry. The role of the neuropeptide oxytocin in social behaviors is one of the earliest and most significant discoveries in social neuroscience. Influential studies in animal models have delineated many of the neural circuits and genetic components that underlie these behaviors. These discoveries have inspired researchers to investigate the effects of oxytocin on brain and behavior in humans and its potential relevance as a treatment for psychiatric disorders including borderline personality disorder and autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In fact, there is no established social psychopharmacology in Psychiatry, and oxytocin can be seen as the first endogenous agent specifically addressing social-cognitive impairment in psychiatric disorders, with animal research suggesting that it could be especially efficient in the early postnatal period. From a human perspective, it is crucial to understand more precisely who can benefit from potential oxytocin-related treatments, which outcome measures will best represent their effects, how they should be administered, and what brain mechanisms are likely involved in mediating their effects. This type of “precision medicine” approach is in line with the research domain criteria defined by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

Optimizing outcomes for women in labor at the global level requires evidence-based guidance of health workers to improve care through appropriate patient selection and use of effective interventions. In this regard, the World Health Organization (WHO) published recommendations for induction of labor in 2011. The goal of the present guideline is to consolidate the guidance for effective interventions that are needed to reduce the global burden of prolonged labor and its consequences. The primary target audience includes health professionals responsible for developing national and local health protocols and policies, as well as obstetricians, midwives, nurses, general medical practitioners, managers of maternal and child health programs, and public health policy-makers in all settings.

A comparative overview of the effects of neuropeptides on behavior, examining parallel findings in both humans and non-human animals.

The Model Chapter on Infant and Young Child Feeding is intended for use in basic training of health professionals. It describes essential knowledge and basic skills that every health professional who works with mothers and young children should master. The Model Chapter can be used by teachers and students as a complement to textbooks or as a concise reference manual.

Swedish medical doctor and physiologist Moberg persuades readers to cultivate the pleasurable moments of life-when our bodies produce the hormone oxytocin, the ready-made healing nectar she asserts is responsible for inducing peace, growth and bonding. As the ying to the better-known yang adrenaline, which triggers feelings of stress and defense, oxytocin increases social memory (like a mother's recognition of her child), she says, inspires serenity, spurs physical growth and healing, lowers blood pressure and regulates digestion. In simple, flowing prose Moberg argues that both hormones are equally necessary parts of a balanced, healthy physiological system. She explains how oxytocin works to inspire calm and connection, and explores the various physical and mental routes to activate it. While Moberg admits that her assumptions are largely based on piecemeal evidence from experiments and observations of animals and humans, she provides a clear, lay introduction to a little-known hormone and a convincing case for further studies.