An unpleasant property has been found in the "love hormone"

Oxytocin is often called the "love hormone," but a new study by Canadian scientists has shown that in people with relationship anxiety, it can make childhood memories more negative. The study was published in the scientific journal Emotion.

Oxytocin is a hormone and chemical messenger involved in childbirth, nursing, and pair bonding. In studies on mice and sheep, it proved necessary for mothers to recognize their offspring and for adults to remember other members of their species. Early experiments on humans suggested that it universally increases trust, cooperation, and empathy.

However, more recent data point to a nuance known as the social salience hypothesis: oxytocin works as an emotional amplifier, highlighting social information — regardless of whether it is positive or negative.

Researchers from McGill University, led by Melissa Shemirani and Jennifer A. Bartz, recruited 77 men and women. During one visit, they received oxytocin as a nasal spray; during the other, a placebo. Neither the participants nor the experimenters knew which spray was being used on a given day.

After the hormone took effect, participants were shown attachment-related words ("protect," "upset") and asked to recall specific childhood episodes with their mother. The experimenters then selected one positive and one negative memory and asked participants to describe them aloud.

Independent raters read the transcripts and evaluated the emotional tone. In participants with high attachment anxiety, oxytocin caused them to describe their mothers with more negative and fewer positive emotions compared to the placebo condition. This suggests that the hormone amplified their deep-seated fears related to relationships.

Participants with an avoidant attachment style, who typically suppress the desire for closeness, became even more reluctant to share personal information under oxytocin. The hormone intensified their defensive tendency to distance themselves from candid disclosures.

The results pertain only to memories about mothers — historically viewed as primary caregivers in early psychology. The study does not answer whether oxytocin would alter memories about fathers or other caregivers. The sample was relatively young, predominantly white and Asian, so the picture may differ in other groups.

A discrepancy was also found between human raters and computerized text analysis programs: automated tools often fail to capture the mixed emotions typical of family narratives.

Oxytocin is not a universal remedy for relationship problems. Since the hormone works as an amplifier of already existing social fears, its use in therapy may require individualized oversight. Without proper guidance, it can intensify destructive stress in those who already experience high anxiety in personal relationships.