Oxytocin is known to dampen amygdala’s ‘fight, flight or freeze’ responses.
Oxytocin production is increased during bonding behaviors (e.g. parent-child, pets, snuggling / Karezza).
If 1, 2 and 3 are true, we could reduce the effect of an ugh field by petting a dog, hugging a baby or snuggling (but not orgasming) with a lover—before confronting the task that induces the ugh field.
Disclaimer: I am not a brain scientist, so the terminology, logic and the entire idea may be wrong.
The second example, killing others with allies in combat, seems to be similar to team sports. However, the third one, being held in captivity / abused, seems to be different in kind. Do you have any sources on it?
Edit: I wonder if playing a team-based competitive game like Team Fortress 2 has any effect on oxytocin levels, in addition to dopamine effects that are typical for video games?
Do you have a source on oxytocin and sex with vs without orgasm? My understanding was that sex increased oxytocin secretion pretty much the same whether you orgasmed or not.
Here’s the closest one I could find: Specificity of the neuroendocrine response to orgasm during sexual
arousal in men. Also, Wikipedia article on oxytocin says that “The relationship between oxytocin and human sexual response is unclear” and cites multiple studies on oxytocin and orgasm, but none of them seem to show any major effect.
So my impression is that oxytocin secretion per se is not heavily affected by orgasm (there is a short-term rise, but that’s about it.) However, orgasm significantly affects two other hormones, dopamine and prolactin (also shown in the study I linked above). After an orgasm, dopamine drops and prolactin rises and keeps surging, supposedly for about two weeks (which seems established, but I don’t have a source handy.)
This series of studies clearly demonstrated that plasma prolactin (PRL) concentrations are substantially increased for over 1h following orgasm (masturbation and coitus conditions) in both men and women, but unchanged following sexual arousal without orgasm.
My current crude thinking is as follows:
Orgasm leads to low dopamine and high prolactin (oxytocin release is negligible).
Low dopamine means low motivation (is the Coolidge effect a hard-coded exception?).
High prolactin means satiation.
When confronting an ugh field, one needs oxytocin and dopamine, but not prolactin.
Therefore it’s better to avoid the post-orgasmic dopamine and prolactin changes.
Moving back from the biological basis to the introspective level, I’d expect the high-prolactin afterglow state to reduce anxiety enough to compensate for decreased motivation. (This might be related to whether one gets wired up or sleepy after sex, which has surprisingly large individual variation.) Easy enough to set up a randomised trial.
No. High oxytocin is present whether you orgasm or not, as we just established. I expect this to help productivity. I also expect that orgasm would
Hurt productivity, because “so sleepy and satisfied, why do anything?” (from low dopamine, possibly from high prolactin)
Help productivity, because “feeling so relaxed, doing things that normally make me so anxious and icky is so easy right now” (from high prolactin; sex without orgasm (high-oxytocin, low-prolactin) does provide some pleasant feelings but not this specific effect)
Help productivity overall, relative to sex without orgasm
Alas, oxytocin supplements (there is a nasal spray, if I remember correctly) don’t seem to work. When released naturally, it’s released where it matters and in precise amounts, while the shotgun approach of the nasal spray makes it easy to miss the correct dosage and delivery location, which may cause various adverse effects.
Warning: my source on the above is a popular book, Cupid’s Poisoned Arrow—but, to their credit, they do cite their scientific sources. If Kindle had a way of copying / quoting text from its books, I’d look up the relevant paragraph for you.
Edit: The sources (had to type them manually):
M. Ansseau, et al., “Intranasal Oxytocin in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder”, 1987: 231-236.
G. Paolisso, et al., “Pharmacological Doses of Oxytocin Affect Plasma Hormone Levels Modulating Glucose Homeostasis in Normal Man”, 1988: 10-16.
Edit 2: Here’s the relevant part on the nasal spray (had to post it via a screenshot because Kindle does not allow copy/pasting text): http://imgur.com/kyysmbo
Edit 2: Here’s the relevant part on the nasal spray (had to post it via a screenshot because Kindle does not allow copy/pasting text): http://imgur.com/kyysmbo
For this reason (and in particular for the purpose of text-to-speech) I use calibre and the Kindle plugin to convert my kindle books to a less artificially restricted format.
I’ve found a way to copy/paste from Kindle! Their software reader, at least the Windows version, allows copying:
You may wonder how researchers did most of the oxytocin experiments related to bonding. They piped it (or drugs that neutralized it) directly into rodents’ brains— onto spots no larger than peppercorns. However, even if you could pipe it into an unloving mate’s brain, you’d have to squirt it in every time you were together. Bonds are only created when oxytocin is consistently released in response to a particular person.
Next time you read about the wonders of oxytocin, keep in mind that the only feasible way to deliver it to anyone’s brain today is by way of a nasal spray— and that is not such a good idea. Such sprays have been used for a long time to induce milk letdown, but the oxytocin ends up all over the brain and circulating in the blood.
In contrast , your body delivers neurochemicals in just the right amount, precisely to the places they are needed, for as long as they are needed, and then quickly disposes of them. A shotgun approach can cause unintended consequences and alter the brain itself. A rise in oxytocin in a minuscule part of a mother rat’s brain causes her to guard her young fiercely. The same rise one-tenth of an inch away makes her passive. 277 Manipulating humans with oxytocin is also dodgy. When scientists tried to relieve symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder long-term, using oxytocin nasal spray, it caused severe memory disturbances, psychotic symptoms, and marked changes in blood sodium levels. 278 In another experiment it brought on high blood sugar (diabetes). 279
At present researchers only use oxytocin nasal sprays for short-term experiments— to learn the kinds of behaviors it influences. In this way it became evident that oxytocin increases trust— by calming the amygdala. 280 Spraying your brain is a fine tactic if you want to trust everyone, including Wall Street bankers, used car salesmen, and politicians. For example, in one experiment, those who took the placebo did not reinvest
I think that common-sense reasoning states that if the idea of doing something makes you uncomfortable, then perhaps you should make yourself comfortable before doing it. To me, this “using oxytocin to counteract ugh fields” idea isn’t obviously more credible or more useful than this common-sense idea.
If an ugh field is indeed a form of an amygdala hijack, one will have a hard time consciously making oneself comfortable with the task, because the amygdala responds faster than the rational brain. A neurochemical hack might work better.
What sort of neurochemical hack? Gwern’s page on nicotine suggests it could be used to reward certain behaviors, thus perhaps breaking down ugh fields. I haven’t tried that yet (I only read that a few days ago) but I’ve had a great deal of success using nicotine (specifically snus) to break down my general acedia and aversion to activity.
What I said was “make yourself comfortable”, and it seems to me like petting a dog, hugging a baby, and snuggling are all ways of making oneself comfortable. Maybe I was unclear, though.
A lifehack idea: using oxytocin to counteract ugh fields:
Ugh fields might be a form of an amygdala hijack.
Oxytocin is known to dampen amygdala’s ‘fight, flight or freeze’ responses.
Oxytocin production is increased during bonding behaviors (e.g. parent-child, pets, snuggling / Karezza).
If 1, 2 and 3 are true, we could reduce the effect of an ugh field by petting a dog, hugging a baby or snuggling (but not orgasming) with a lover—before confronting the task that induces the ugh field.
Disclaimer: I am not a brain scientist, so the terminology, logic and the entire idea may be wrong.
Playing a team sport. Killing other people with your allies in combat. Being held in captivity and/or abused severely enough.
Hmm, this is surprising. At first I thought you’re providing examples of bonding behaviors that don’t raise oxytocin levels, but decided to google anyway, and voila: Oxytocin and the Biopsychology of Performance in Team Sports, Gert-Jan Pepping and Erik J. Timmermans.
The second example, killing others with allies in combat, seems to be similar to team sports. However, the third one, being held in captivity / abused, seems to be different in kind. Do you have any sources on it?
Edit: I wonder if playing a team-based competitive game like Team Fortress 2 has any effect on oxytocin levels, in addition to dopamine effects that are typical for video games?
Do you have a source on oxytocin and sex with vs without orgasm? My understanding was that sex increased oxytocin secretion pretty much the same whether you orgasmed or not.
Here’s the closest one I could find: Specificity of the neuroendocrine response to orgasm during sexual arousal in men. Also, Wikipedia article on oxytocin says that “The relationship between oxytocin and human sexual response is unclear” and cites multiple studies on oxytocin and orgasm, but none of them seem to show any major effect.
So my impression is that oxytocin secretion per se is not heavily affected by orgasm (there is a short-term rise, but that’s about it.) However, orgasm significantly affects two other hormones, dopamine and prolactin (also shown in the study I linked above). After an orgasm, dopamine drops and prolactin rises and keeps surging, supposedly for about two weeks (which seems established, but I don’t have a source handy.)
Here’s a study that shows that prolactin rises after an orgasm in men and women but sex without orgasm doesn’t affect prolactin levels: Orgasm-induced prolactin secretion: feedback control of sexual drive?:
My current crude thinking is as follows:
Orgasm leads to low dopamine and high prolactin (oxytocin release is negligible).
Low dopamine means low motivation (is the Coolidge effect a hard-coded exception?).
High prolactin means satiation.
When confronting an ugh field, one needs oxytocin and dopamine, but not prolactin.
Therefore it’s better to avoid the post-orgasmic dopamine and prolactin changes.
Thanks!
Moving back from the biological basis to the introspective level, I’d expect the high-prolactin afterglow state to reduce anxiety enough to compensate for decreased motivation. (This might be related to whether one gets wired up or sleepy after sex, which has surprisingly large individual variation.) Easy enough to set up a randomised trial.
You probably meant high-oxytocin afterglow.
No. High oxytocin is present whether you orgasm or not, as we just established. I expect this to help productivity. I also expect that orgasm would
Hurt productivity, because “so sleepy and satisfied, why do anything?” (from low dopamine, possibly from high prolactin)
Help productivity, because “feeling so relaxed, doing things that normally make me so anxious and icky is so easy right now” (from high prolactin; sex without orgasm (high-oxytocin, low-prolactin) does provide some pleasant feelings but not this specific effect)
Help productivity overall, relative to sex without orgasm
I wonder if taking oxytocin supplements might work even better for this.
I’ll definitely be trying it in one way or another, though.
Alas, oxytocin supplements (there is a nasal spray, if I remember correctly) don’t seem to work. When released naturally, it’s released where it matters and in precise amounts, while the shotgun approach of the nasal spray makes it easy to miss the correct dosage and delivery location, which may cause various adverse effects.
Warning: my source on the above is a popular book, Cupid’s Poisoned Arrow—but, to their credit, they do cite their scientific sources. If Kindle had a way of copying / quoting text from its books, I’d look up the relevant paragraph for you.
Edit: The sources (had to type them manually):
M. Ansseau, et al., “Intranasal Oxytocin in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder”, 1987: 231-236.
G. Paolisso, et al., “Pharmacological Doses of Oxytocin Affect Plasma Hormone Levels Modulating Glucose Homeostasis in Normal Man”, 1988: 10-16.
Edit 2: Here’s the relevant part on the nasal spray (had to post it via a screenshot because Kindle does not allow copy/pasting text): http://imgur.com/kyysmbo
For this reason (and in particular for the purpose of text-to-speech) I use calibre and the Kindle plugin to convert my kindle books to a less artificially restricted format.
I’ve found a way to copy/paste from Kindle! Their software reader, at least the Windows version, allows copying:
I think that common-sense reasoning states that if the idea of doing something makes you uncomfortable, then perhaps you should make yourself comfortable before doing it. To me, this “using oxytocin to counteract ugh fields” idea isn’t obviously more credible or more useful than this common-sense idea.
If an ugh field is indeed a form of an amygdala hijack, one will have a hard time consciously making oneself comfortable with the task, because the amygdala responds faster than the rational brain. A neurochemical hack might work better.
What sort of neurochemical hack? Gwern’s page on nicotine suggests it could be used to reward certain behaviors, thus perhaps breaking down ugh fields. I haven’t tried that yet (I only read that a few days ago) but I’ve had a great deal of success using nicotine (specifically snus) to break down my general acedia and aversion to activity.
I meant the hack I outlined in the original post: increasing oxytocin via bonding behaviors to dampen amygdala’s fear response.
What I said was “make yourself comfortable”, and it seems to me like petting a dog, hugging a baby, and snuggling are all ways of making oneself comfortable. Maybe I was unclear, though.