National Library of Medicine: IGM
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TITLE:
Physiological and endocrine effects of social
contact.
AUTHOR:
Uvnas-Moberg K
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology,
Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
SOURCE:
Ann N Y Acad Sci 1997 Jan 15;807:146-63
NLM CIT. ID:
97224975
ABSTRACT:
Nonnoxious sensory stimulation associated with
friendly social interaction induces a psychophysiological response pattern involving
sedation, relaxation, decreased sympathoadrenal activity, and increased vagal nerve tone
and thereby an endocrine and metabolic pattern favoring the storage of nutrients and
growth. It is suggested that oxytocin released from parvocellular neurons in the
paraventricular nucleus (PVN) in response to nonnoxious stimulation integrates this
response pattern at the hypothalamic level. The response pattern just described
characterized by calm, relaxation, and anabolic metabolism could be regarded as an
antithesis to the well known fight-flight response in which mental activation, locomotor
activity, and catabolic metabolism are expressed. Furthermore, the health-promoting aspect
of friendly and supportive relationships might be a consequence of repetitive exposure to
nonnoxious sensory stimulation causing the physiological endocrine and behavioral changes
just described.
Animal
Breast Feeding
Female
Human
Hypothalamus/PHYSIOLOGY
Lactation
Maternal Behavior
Pain
Somatosensory Cortex/PHYSIOLOGY
PUBLICATION TYPES:
JOURNAL ARTICLE
REVIEW
REVIEW, TUTORIAL
LANGUAGE:
Eng
REGISTRY NUMBERS:
0 (Hormones)
50-56-6 (Oxytocin)
On Sabbatical!
When my office
lease expired at the end of 2004, I decided to turn it into a
"sabbatical" from my private practice. Many years ago, in my
grandfather's 89th year of life, he told me, "John, it is important
to smell the roses while you can still smell them." His life
gave living a very good reputation. It is also true that the
pursuit of that philosophy required my grandfather to to re-open his
assay office/ore market in Wickenburg, Arizona as a 75-year-old because
he had run a little short of retirement money. Thus, if blessed with his
luck and health, I'll be back.. --jjh
