oxytocin
noun
- hormone, produced by birds and mammals, that in mammals causes both contraction of smooth muscle in the uterus during birth and expulsion of milk from the mammary glands during suckling
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ɑksiˈtoʊsɪn/ / /ˈɑksiˌtoʊsɪn/
noun
Etymology: From oxytocic, from Ancient Greek ὀξύς (oxús, “swift”) + τόκος (tókos, “childbirth”, from τίκτω (tíktō, “I give birth”)).
- A hormone that stimulates contractions during labor, and then the production of milk; also plays a role in social bonding.
“Some women describe episodes of intense pleasure akin to orgasm during nursing. It would be interesting to know whether the release of oxytocin during suckling plays a role in this subjective feeling, as it may do in actual orgasm.”
“MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy, greatly increases feelings of empathy (and perhaps the actual capacity to perceive the emotions of others); one of the mechanisms (oxytocin release) is now becoming understood, […]”