Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, The Netherlands; Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
University of Padua, Padua, Italy; University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2017 Nov;85:115-122. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.08.017. Epub 2017 Aug 19.
The neuropeptide oxytocin plays an important role in social behavior, parenting, and affectionate touch and there is some evidence that oxytocin release can be stimulated by massage or affectionate touch. We examined the effects of massage applied by a massage seat cover on salivary oxytocin levels in two exploratory studies using within-subject designs. In Study 1 massage effects on oxytocin levels were examined in a sample of N=20 healthy female participants. Effects of a 15-min massage session were compared to a control condition during which participants sat on a comfortable chair without a massage seat cover. Salivary oxytocin levels were measured at baseline and up to three hours after the session. We found that massage attenuated oxytocin decreases over time, indicating that massage stimulates oxytocin release. In Study 2, we examined whether effects of massage in N=46 healthy male participants depend on experiences of emotional maltreatment. In addition, we examined whether enhanced oxytocin levels after massage affect the use of excessive handgrip force in response to infant crying and laughter as measured with a handgrip dynamometer. Our findings show that massage results in elevated oxytocin levels compared to a control condition, but that the effects of massage are dependent on experiences of emotional maltreatment. Men with experiences of emotional maltreatment showed lower oxytocin levels, which did not increase after massage. Furthermore, we found that high oxytocin levels after massage were related to reduced handgrip force during exposure to infant crying and laughter, indicating that massage stimulates a sensitive response to infant signals by stimulating oxytocin release. Although massage did not affect oxytocin levels in individuals with experiences of maltreatment, it reduced the use of handgrip force in response to infant crying and laughter in these individuals. Our findings indicate that emotional maltreatment is associated with atypical responding to stimulation of endogenous oxytocin release.
神经肽催产素在社会行为、育儿和亲昵触摸中发挥着重要作用，有证据表明，按摩或亲昵触摸可以刺激催产素的释放。我们使用了个体内设计，在两项探索性研究中，考察了按摩座椅套进行的按摩对唾液催产素水平的影响。在研究 1 中，我们对 20 名健康女性参与者进行了研究，考察了按摩对催产素水平的影响。在 15 分钟的按摩疗程中，将参与者坐在舒适的椅子上，没有按摩座椅套的对照条件下，对催产素水平进行了比较。在基线和疗程结束后三小时内测量了唾液催产素水平。我们发现，按摩可以减缓催产素随时间的下降，表明按摩刺激了催产素的释放。在研究 2 中，我们考察了在 46 名健康男性参与者中，按摩的效果是否取决于情感虐待的经历。此外，我们还考察了按摩后催产素水平的提高是否会影响使用握力计测量的对婴儿哭声和笑声的过度握力。我们的研究结果表明，与对照条件相比，按摩会导致催产素水平升高，但按摩的效果取决于情感虐待的经历。经历过情感虐待的男性催产素水平较低，按摩后不会升高。此外，我们发现，按摩后催产素水平较高与在婴儿哭声和笑声中暴露时握力降低有关，这表明，通过刺激催产素的释放，按摩刺激了对婴儿信号的敏感反应。尽管按摩对经历过虐待的个体的催产素水平没有影响，但它降低了这些个体对婴儿哭声和笑声的握力反应。我们的研究结果表明，情感虐待与内源性催产素释放刺激的异常反应有关。
