A long and winding road: My personal journey to oxytocin with no return

The present paper is the personal narration of the author reviewing her scientific pathways that led her toward the study of oxytocin. My work began with a pioneering study showing a decreased number of the serotonin transporter proteins in romantic lovers. This unexpected finding promoted my interest in the neurobiology of human emotions and feelings, and significantly shifted my research focus from diseases to physiological states that underlie love. During this time increasing experimental data broadened the spectrum of activities of oxytocin from female functions, such as parturition and lactation, to modulation of the stress and immune system. The literature also began to reveal an important role for oxytocin in a sense of safety and wellbeing, processes that are critical to both love and survival. I suggest here that future studies should disentangle different emerging questions regarding the exact role of oxytocin within human nature, as well as its possible therapeutic applications in different physiological conditions and pathological states. Understanding these, in turn, holds the potential to improve the lives of both individuals and societies.

Automated summary

The present paper is a personal narration of the author's scientific pathway in studying oxytocin. The author's interest in the neurobiology of human emotions was sparked by a pioneering study on romantic lovers and eventually led to a shift in research focus from diseases to physiological states related to love. The author suggests that future studies should further explore the role of oxytocin in human nature and its potential therapeutic applications in various physiological and pathological conditions, which could potentially improve the lives of individuals and societies.