Verified by 
First there is love at first sight, then passion and deeper love follow, bringing marriage and children, and later the “seven year itch.” The “seven year itch” is that period during which the actual statistical chance of divorce is greatest. Those who remain married might have more of the “bonding hormone” or the real enduring “love potion,” known as oxytocin, since they are more likely to stay married. The 3 percent of mammals, other than humans, who mate for life also, have high levels of this “monogamous” hormone. Moreover, researchers found a significant positive correlation between human plasma oxytocin levels with 33 romantic relationships ranging from one month to 25 years (there were 12 controls which had no current relationship), and the anxiety scale of the “Experiences in Close Relationships,” a self-directed questionnaire, which measures the state of anxiety associated with romantic attachment in the human species. Simply stated, the higher the anxiety level, the higher the oxytocin levels. Similarly, other investigators found that spraying oxytocin intranasally made male subjects perceive their female partner’s face as more attractive, but had no effect on the attractiveness of other familiar or unfamiliar women.
What is oxytocin and how does it work?
Oxytocin is widely known as the bonding hormone for its effects on love and lust between two people in a relationship. Physical acts, such as kissing and hugging, stimulate the release of more oxytocin, causing an even stronger chemistry between two lovers.
A natural peptide hormone is produced in the brain’s hypothalamus and released via the posterior pituitary in mothers during childbirth and breastfeeding. The true bond between a mother and her newborn baby is initiated and strengthened over time due to oxytocin.
Many studies have been performed to determine whether this love potion can aid in psychological disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and depression. In fact, problems in social and emotional development have been linked to the oxytocin systems, and abnormalities in the oxytocin receptor gene have been linked to empathy, trust, maternal behavior, stress reduction, anxiety and depression. Oxytocin is making a big impact in science and is currently being researched to treat eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa.
Anorexia in today’s society
Anorexia nervosa is a common eating disorder and psychological condition among many young women and even some men. It is portrayed as the young, successful female who cuts her carrots into tiny pieces and counts the number of peas on her plate as she obsesses over her thin body image in the mirror to the point that it becomes pathological. Her hair begins to fall out, her skin becomes dry and she stops menstruating as the condition strips her of her womanhood.
Social exclusion, isolation and interpersonal problems are the pillars to developing anorexia nervosa. In fact, research has shown that patients with anorexia nervosa begin to show signs of social difficulties before the actual onset of the illness, and social problems at 8 years of age strongly predict an eating disorder onset by 14 years of age.
Society depicts beauty as a thin woman and ostracizes women who are overweight, leading to an increase in the prevalence of anorexia nervosa and depression. Mattel’s Barbie dolls are a size 0 and most of America’s youth grow up playing with these seemingly perfect dolls. Popular fad diets, such as Jenny Craig, the Master Cleanse Diet with lemon juice, the Hollywood Diet, and the South Beach Diet, promise quick weight loss, and send the message through advertising that the thinner you are the prettier you are.
In fact, nearly 25 million people in the U.S. of different ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder, such as anorexia, bulimia or overeating, and of all mental illnesses, eating disorders were reported to have the highest mortality rate.
The definition of anorexia nervosa
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that is characterized by the inability to maintain a minimally normal weight, a devastating fear of weight gain, relentless dietary habits that prevent weight gain, and a disturbance in the way in which body weight and shape are perceived. This condition has potentially life-threatening effects on the body and causes enduring psychological disturbances, such as depression and low self-esteem.
Anorexia nervosa can be divided into two subtypes: restricting, in which severe limitation of food intake is the primary means to weight loss, and binge-eating/purging, in which periods of food intake are quickly followed by self-induced vomiting, laxative or diuretic abuse, and excessive exercise.
Currently, no pharmacological treatment or cure for anorexia nervosa exists. So how can the bonding hormone treat this disease that affects so many people around the world?
Oxytocin reduces body image fear in patients with anorexia
People with anorexia have shrunken, stressed and starved brains, and oxytocin can help with brain plasticity and stress in these individuals. According to multiple studies, people with anorexia nervosa actually have abnormal levels of oxytocin as well as malfunctioning oxytocin receptors in their brain, which cause aberrations in their social functioning.
Two key factors that trigger anorexia are a profound sense of alienation and sensitivity to social ranking. These individuals desire to become popular and feel wanted by others, but they are constantly isolated because of their underlying pathology. These patients will go to extreme lengths to fit in with the social norm.
Two studies on how oxytocin can potentially treat anorexia nervosa were published in Psychoneuroendocrinology and PLOS ONE. In the Psychoneuroendocrinology study, anorexia nervosa patients and control patients were given intranasal oxytocin and were asked to look at images of different high- and low-caloric foods, weight scales, and thin and overweight people. A visual probe was used to record how quickly the patients identified and processed the images. The results were fascinating. The group with anorexia nervosa showed significant reductions in the attention they gave toward eating-related stimuli and toward negative body shape stimuli after they were administered intranasal oxytocin.
The PLOS study administered oxytocin to the same patients and recorded their reactions to images of negative facial expressions, such as anger and disgust. After taking a dose of oxytocin, patients with anorexia nervosa were less likely to focus on the disgusted and angry faces. They were also less likely to avoid looking at angry faces and simply became vigilant toward them.
This research shows that oxytocin reduces anorexia nervosa patients’ unconscious tendencies to focus on food, body shape and negative emotions, and could lead to the possibility of using oxytocin as a pharmacological treatment for anorexia nervosa.
Whether being deprived of love or starved from food, this love potion could one day be used to cure this horrific eating disorder that affects so many people around the world. These recent and revolutionary studies are just the beginning to finding a cure for anorexia nervosa. Researchers are becoming closer and closer to healing people through love. Never underestimate the power of love, after all, according to the legendary Beatles, “All You Need is Love.”
Contributed by Kristen Fuller, M.D.
