Oxytocin plays a central role in birth, lactation, and parent-infant interactions. Throughout life, it continues to have a vital role in social sensitivity, interpersonal bonding, and the establishment of trust in relationships.1 The release of oxytocin is highly sensitive to emotional and social contexts,2 and basic research has implicated oxytocin in the regulation of emotion, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and the autonomic nervous system.3 Oxytocin and its receptors have been identified throughout the brain and body, and oxytocin has been implicated in cardiovascular, immune, gastrointestinal, and renal functions and bone formation and has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
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