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Oxytocin and bonding in humans
By Crobar in Neurognosis
October 15, 2007

I posted an article not too long ago that I wrote last year on the theories of love.  In dealing with physiology much was mentioned about the role of oxytocin in pair bonding.  Much of the work supporting this has been done previously in animals like prairie voles.  Some work has been done in humans but not too much.

A recent study in the journal Psychological Science, put out by the APS (Association for Psychological Science) studied the levels of oxytocin in soon to be mothers.  They found that the oxytocin levels in these women predicted bonding behavior with their children.  This study appears to substantiate the previous non-human studies in pair bonding and this particular mechanism seems to be conserved across taxa.  This would allude to a long evolutionary history of such a process arising long ago in our mammalian history - possibly further back.

The journal is still in press but here's the info if you want to look for that article when it comes out (or if you are a member of APS, just go to the November issue to see the draft pdf):

Ruth Feldman, Aron Weller, Orna Zagoory-Sharon, and Ari Levine. (2006). Evidence for a Neuroendocrinological Foundation of Human Affiliation: Plasma Oxytocin Levels Across Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period Predict Mother-Infant Bonding. Psychological Science - November 2007.

I told ya I'd get some brain stuff here sooner or later.