Why do we find the opposite sex attractive

A new study shows that the type of hormone that creates the emotional relationship between mother and child also plays an important role in the selection of partners.

In both men and women, oxytocin makes us feel that the opposite sex becomes more attractive and reliable.Artwork: Static.

Oxytocin is a hormone that plays a decisive role in building and maintaining relationships in mammals. In humans, the pituitary gland is the producer of oxytocin. The concentration of oxytocin in women increases when they give birth, breastfeed and have sex. A recent study showed that women's oxytocin levels also increased when they looked or touched a newborn baby. The higher the concentration of oxytocin is, the easier it is to trust other people.

'When oxytocin flows through the blood vessels, we tend to see opposite sexes that we don't know become more adorable,' said Angeliki Theodorious, a psychologist at Bristol University (UK).

Scientists have evidence that oxytocin is also involved in the process of building adult relationships. Men who smell or drink oxytocin remember stranger faces better than others. People with high levels of oxytocin in the body also often appear more generous.

To explore the role of oxytocin with sexual attraction, Theodoridou and colleagues invited 96 men and women to participate in a trial. They divided volunteers into two groups and then gave them a group to smell oxytocin, while the other group sniffed the placebo. The team then showed them photos of 48 people (both male and female) and asked them to assess the level of attractiveness and reliability of the people in the picture through scores.

The results showed that, whether happy or sad, the score of attractiveness and reliability for heterosexual images of the oxytocin smelling group was always higher than the other group. Theodoridou's team did not understand how oxytocin affected the assessment of brain events. However, she speculated that this hormone reduces the activity of amygdala - the area of ​​the brain that produces fear.

Jennifer Bartz, a psychologist at Mount Sinai Medical University (USA), said that although Theodoridou's research proves that both men and women feel that their opposite sex is more attractive and reliable after smelling. oxytocin, but the reaction of both sexes may be different in practice.

'We need to conduct other research to find out if there are any differences related to gender , ' Bartz said. Many pharmaceutical companies have thought of making money from oxytocin. For example, a company that offers sprays has the ability to help those who meet for the first time feel more confident. However, they only give some vague evidence of its use.

In the future, can one find a spray that has the ability to make two strangers of the opposite sex even know nothing about the enemy? Theodoridou thinks the answer is 'no'. 'If I had a drug like that, I would have objected to launching it to the market,' she said.