The Facts

SEE

TOW

SIN

(The religious kind)

Oxytocin is Greek for "Quick Birth"

Chemical Structure

C43H66N12O12S2

3d Model

3d Model (Styrofoam)

Key: Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulfur

2d Model

History

Oxytocin and its properties were first discovered in 1906 by Sir Henry H. Dale

It was successfully synthesized in the mid-1950s by Vincent Du Vigneaud, who was "able to determine its chemical composition quickly because oxytocin consists of only eight amino acids, whereas other hormones consist of hundreds" (Du Vigneaud, Vincent). Despite this, it took him 10 years to synthesize it.

His work led to "a virtually unlimited supply of oxytocin...for hospitals everywhere."

It was the first time a sulfur-containing polypeptide hormone was synthesized, and for this achievement, Du Vigneaud was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1955. While it is known for its effects relating to pregnancy, "it plays an important role in pair bonding, social cognition, and functioning, and even fear conditioning."

Significance:

At this point in my research, I've discovered that a majority of information on Oxytocin relates either to giving birth or breast milk. Enjoy!

Oxytocin is the key chemical in childbirth
- For one, it stimulates uterine contractions during pregnancy and during labor, which helps the baby descend into the birth canal
- Post-birth, oxytocin plays an important role in the production of breast milk and its removal by the infant. It stimulates milk ejection, while another hormone (prolactin) is necessary for the maintenance of milk production
- Oxytocin also controls milk letdown, in which if a mother is worried or stressed the letdown reflex may be hindered, but if she is thinking of her baby it may trigger the production and ejection of milk

Oxytocin is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. "Together with...neuropeptide vasopressin, it is believed to influence social cognition and behavior" (PubChem)

Males also have oxytocin but at smaller levels. It is primarily used in intercourse.

Almost 10% of all deliveries globally use labor induction with oxytocin

Additional Epic Fact

C&en: "Oxytocin plays a large, and largely unexplored, role in the brain. Oxytocin is not only a hormone that circulates in the bloodstream, it is also a neurotransmitter that travels along nerve cells in the brain and elsewhere. The cells that make oxytocin in the hypothalamus and send it to the pituitary gland also send oxytocin to different regions of the brain. Moreover, cells of the hypothalamus are not the only cells that make oxytocin. The ovaries, testicles, heart, and blood vessel walls have all been shown to produce their own oxytocin." Many scientists suspect that there are yet undiscovered oxytocin receptors.

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