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Oxytocin
Oxytocin is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide normally produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary. Present in animals since early stages of evolution, in humans it plays roles in behavior that include Human bonding, social bonding, love, reproduction, childbirth, and the Postpartum period, period after childbirth. Oxytocin is released into the bloodstream as a hormone in response to Human sexual activity, sexual activity and during childbirth. It is also available in Oxytocin (medication), pharmaceutical form. In either form, oxytocin stimulates uterine contractions to speed up the process of childbirth. In its natural form, it also plays a role in maternal bonding and lactation, milk production. Production and secretion of oxytocin is controlled by a positive feedback mechanism, where its initial release stimulates production and release of further oxytocin. For example, when oxytocin is released during a contraction of the uterus at the start of c ...
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Oxytocin (medication)
Synthetic oxytocin, sold under the brand name Pitocin among others, is a medication made from the peptide ''oxytocin''. As a medication, it is used to cause contraction of the uterus to start labor, increase the speed of labor, and to stop bleeding following delivery. For this purpose, it is given by injection either into a muscle or into a vein. Oxytocin is also available in intranasal spray form for psychiatric, endocrine and weight management use as a supplement. Intranasal oxytocin works on a different pathway than injected oxytocin, primarily along the olfactory nerve crossing the blood–brain barrier to the olfactory lobe in the brain, where dense magnocellular oxytocin neurons receive the nerve impulse quickly. The natural occurrence of oxytocin was discovered in 1906. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Medical uses An intravenous infusion of oxytocin is used to induce labor and to support labor in case of slow childbir ...
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Oxytocin Receptor
The oxytocin receptor, also known as OXTR, is a protein which functions as receptor for the hormone and neurotransmitter oxytocin. In humans, the oxytocin receptor is encoded by the ''OXTR'' gene which has been localized to human chromosome 3p25. Function and location The OXTR protein belongs to the G-protein coupled receptor family, specifically Gq, and acts as a receptor for oxytocin. Its activity is mediated by G proteins that activate several different second messenger systems. Oxytocin receptors are expressed by the myoepithelial cells of the mammary gland, and in both the myometrium and endometrium of the uterus at the end of pregnancy. The oxytocin-oxytocin receptor system plays an important role as an inducer of uterine contractions during parturition and of milk ejection. OXTR is also associated with the central nervous system. The gene is believed to play a major role in social, cognitive, and emotional behavior. A decrease in OXTR expression by methylation of th ...
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Oxytocinase
Oxytocinase is a type of enzyme that metabolizes the endogenous neuropeptide, oxytocin. The most well-characterized oxytocinase is leucyl/cystinyl aminopeptidase, which is also an enkephalinase. Other oxytocinases are also known. During pregnancy, oxytocinase plays a role in balancing concentration of oxytocin by degrading the oxytocin produced by the fetus, as production of oxytocin increases with growth of fetus. One study found that concentration level of oxytocinase increased progressively with gestational age until labor, which indicates that pregnancy development can be statistically evaluated by comparing oxytocinase levels. Inhibitors Amastatin, bestatin (ubenimex), and puromycin have been found to inhibit the enzymatic degradation of oxytocin, though they also inhibit the degradation of various other peptides, such as vasopressin, met-enkephalin, and dynorphin A. EDTA, L-methionine, o-phenanthroline, and phosphoramidon have also been found to inhibit the enzymatic ...
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Childbirth
Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy, where one or more Fetus, fetuses exits the Womb, internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section and becomes a newborn to the world. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million human births globally. In Developed country, developed countries, most deliveries occur in hospitals, while in Developing country, developing countries most are home births. The most common childbirth method worldwide is vaginal delivery. It involves four stages of labour: the cervical effacement, shortening and Cervical dilation, opening of the cervix during the first stage, descent and birth of the baby during the second, the delivery of the placenta during the third, and the recovery of the mother and infant during the fourth stage, which is referred to as the Postpartum period, postpartum. The first stage is characterised by abdominal cramping or also back pain in the case of B ...
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Human Bonding
Human bonding is the process of development of a close relationship, close interpersonal relationship between two or more homo sapiens sapiens, people. It most commonly takes place between family members or friends, but can also develop among groups, such as sporting teams and whenever homo sapiens sapiens, people spend time together. Bonding is a mutual, social interaction, interactive process, and is different from simple Reciprocal liking, liking. It is the process of nurturing social connection. Bonding typically refers to the process of attachment theory, attachment that develops between romantic or platonic partners, close friends, or parents and children. This bond is characterised by emotions such as affection and trust (social sciences), trust. Any two people who spend time together may form a bond. Male bonding refers to the establishment of relationships between men through shared activities. The term female bonding refers to the formation of close personal relationshi ...
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Atosiban
Atosiban, sold under the brand name Tractocile among others, is an inhibitor of the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin. It is used as an intravenous medication as a labour repressant (tocolytic) to halt premature labor. It was developed by Ferring Pharmaceuticals in Sweden and first reported in the literature in 1985. Originally marketed by Ferring Pharmaceuticals, it is licensed in proprietary and generic forms for the delay of imminent preterm birth in pregnant adult women. The most commonly reported side effect is nausea. Medical uses Atosiban is used to delay birth in adult women who are 24 to 33 weeks pregnant, when they show signs that they may give birth pre-term (prematurely). These signs include regular contractions lasting at least 30 seconds at a rate of at least four every 30 minutes, and dilation of the cervix (the neck of the womb) of 1 to 3 cm and an effacement (a measure of the thinness of the cervix) of 50% or more. In addition, the baby must have a nor ...
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Lactation
Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The process of feeding milk in all female creatures is called ''nursing'', and in humans it is also called ''breastfeeding''. Newborn infants often produce some milk from their own breast tissue, known colloquially as witch's milk. In most species, lactation is a sign that the female has been pregnant at some point in her life, although in humans and goats, it can happen without pregnancy. Nearly every species of mammal has teats; except for monotremes, egg-laying mammals, which instead release milk through ducts in the abdomen. In only a handful of species of mammals, certain bat species, is milk production a normal Male lactation, male function. ''Galactopoiesis'' is the maintenance of milk production. This stage requires prolactin. Oxytocin is cr ...
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Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus (: hypothalami; ) is a small part of the vertebrate brain that contains a number of nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus is located below the thalamus and is part of the limbic system. It forms the Basal (anatomy), basal part of the diencephalon. All vertebrate brains contain a hypothalamus. In humans, it is about the size of an Almond#Nut, almond. The hypothalamus has the function of regulating certain metabolic biological process, processes and other activities of the autonomic nervous system. It biosynthesis, synthesizes and secretes certain neurohormones, called releasing hormones or hypothalamic hormones, and these in turn stimulate or inhibit the secretion of hormones from the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus controls thermoregulation, body temperature, hunger (physiology), hunger, important aspects o ...
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Posterior Pituitary
The posterior pituitary (or neurohypophysis) is the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland which is part of the endocrine system. Unlike the anterior pituitary, the posterior pituitary is not glandular, but largely a collection of axonal projections from the hypothalamus that terminate behind the anterior pituitary, and serve as a site for the secretion of neurohypophysial hormones (oxytocin and vasopressin) directly into the blood. The hypothalamic–neurohypophyseal system is composed of the hypothalamus (the paraventricular nucleus and supraoptic nucleus), posterior pituitary, and these axonal projections. Structure The posterior pituitary consists mainly of neuronal projections (axons) of magnocellular neurosecretory cells extending from the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus. These axons store and release neurohypophysial hormones oxytocin and vasopressin into the neurohypophyseal capillaries, from there they get into the systemic circulati ...
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Pituitary Gland
The pituitary gland or hypophysis is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, the pituitary gland is located at the base of the human brain, brain, protruding off the bottom of the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus control much of the body's endocrine system. It is seated in part of the sella turcica a fossa (anatomy), depression in the sphenoid bone, known as the hypophyseal fossa. The human pituitary gland is ovoid, oval shaped, about 1 cm in diameter, in weight on average, and about the size of a kidney bean. Digital version. There are two main lobes of the pituitary, an anterior pituitary, anterior lobe, and a posterior pituitary, posterior lobe joined and separated by a small intermediate lobe. The anterior lobe (adenohypophysis) is the glandular part that produces and secretes several hormones. The posterior lobe (neurohypophysis) secretes neurohypophysial hormones produced in the hypothalamus. Both lobes have different origins and they are both co ...
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Positive Feedback
Positive feedback (exacerbating feedback, self-reinforcing feedback) is a process that occurs in a feedback loop where the outcome of a process reinforces the inciting process to build momentum. As such, these forces can exacerbate the effects of a small disturbance. That is, the effects of a perturbation on a system include an increase in the magnitude of the perturbation. That is, ''A produces more of B which in turn produces more of A''.Keesing, R.M. (1981). Cultural anthropology: A contemporary perspective (2nd ed.) p.149. Sydney: Holt, Rinehard & Winston, Inc. In contrast, a system in which the results of a change act to reduce or counteract it has negative feedback. Both concepts play an important role in science and engineering, including biology, chemistry, and cybernetics. Mathematically, positive feedback is defined as a positive loop gain around a closed loop of cause and effect. That is, positive feedback is Phase (waves), in phase with the input, in the sense that ...
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Maternal Bonding
A maternal bond is the relationship between a biological mother/caregiver and her child or baby. While typically associated with pregnancy and childbirth, a maternal bond may also develop in cases later on in life where the child is unrelated, such as in the case of an adoptee or a case of blended family. Both physical and emotional factors influence the mother-child bonding process. In separation anxiety disorder a child becomes fearful and nervous when away from a loved one, usually a parent or other caregiver. New mothers do not always experience instant love toward their child. Instead, the bond can strengthen over time, or fail to develop. Bonds can take hours, days, weeks, or months to develop. Pregnancy The maternal bond between a woman and her biological child usually begins to develop during pregnancy. The pregnant female often adapts her lifestyle to suit the needs of the developing infant, for example by eating or retaining from eating certain foods or undertaki ...
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