Journal
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Volume 69, Issue 1, Pages 5-21Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2004.11.002
Keywords
oxytocin; blood pressure; partner support; warm touch; hugs
Funding
- NCRR NIH HHS [RR00046] Funding Source: Medline
- NHLBI NIH HHS [HL64927] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
In animals, ventral stroking for > 5 days increases oxytocin (OT) activity and decreases blood pressure (BP), but related human studies are few. Thus, relationships between self-reported frequency of partner hugs, plasma OT and BP levels were examined in 59 premenopausal women before and after warm contact with their husbands/partners ending with hugs. Higher baseline OT before partner contact was associated with lower BP and heart rate, and met criteria to be a partial mediator of the lower resting BP shown by women reporting more frequent hugs (P < 0.05). OT levels during post-contact stress were unrelated to hugs or BR Menstrual cycle phase did not influence any OT measure. Thus, frequent hugs between spouses/partners are associated with lower BP and higher OT levels in premenopausal women; OT-mediated reduction in central adrenergic activity and peripheral effects of OT on the heart and vasculature are pathways to examine in future research. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available