'Love Hormone' Helps Produce 'Bliss Molecules' to Boost Pleasure of Social Interactions
Monday, October 26, 2015 - 15:00
in Health & Medicine
The hormone oxytocin, which has been associated with interpersonal bonding, may enhance the pleasure of social interactions by stimulating production of marijuana-like neurotransmitters in the brain, according to a University of California, Irvine study. The research provides the first link between oxytocin - dubbed the "love hormone" - and anandamide, which has been called the "bliss molecule" for its role in activating cannabinoid receptors in brain cells to heighten motivation and happiness.