RJA #10a: Claim

Does Oxytocin induce the primal instincts required for a successful reproductive cycle?

RJA #9b: Freewriting

Does Oxytocin induce the primal instincts correlated to bonding required for successful reproduction? 

What has the power to bring two people in a busy environment to take the time to appreciate, protect, and support one another? The majority of the inhabitants of this planet would go towards the direction of love, but research produced in the past twenty years is starting to turn heads with the name Oxytocin. So what is oxytocin? It is a hormone which is produced in the pituitary gland located at the base of the brain. This single pea sized gland produces oxytocin during several interesting and notable periods and the effects of this miniscule hormone is almost unbelievable. Whenever a mating pair induces an orgasm by sexual relations the oxytocin hormone is produced in unimaginable amounts to provide the feeling many recognize as self satisfaction, security, generosity, increases in trust and decreases in fear. This is the basis of bonding and without it I believe the life cycle would not be existent. The most important part of a successful offspring is the beginning of a relationship, if the relationship is going smoothly and oxytocin supplies are constantly being rejuvenated the bond in the mating pair grows stronger and larger until it leads them to primal instinct of having the need to care for a child. Oxytocin provides the security and trust our species needs to create this bond, and to strengthen it at times of need. For instance, during labor oxytocin is much more concentrated in the uterus and in the brain of both the parents completely rewiring their brains to do anything and everything to care, protect, support, and love their newborn screaming child. Depriving a mother of this hormone would disengage the formations of the bond between mother and child giving the mother no interest in the newborn offspring, most likely letting it die on its own. Now not only does oxytocin create bonding in the cognitive sense, but it also provides bodily functions to function properly. Once the baby is born the mother’s breast is full of milk and nutrition for the young one to nourish, but many do not understand the process of the ability of giving nutrients. The milk is produced in the body without the aid of the oxytocin hormone, but without the aid of oxytocin the milk would never reach the passageway that leads to the nipple’s pores. Therefore the role of this neurotransmitter has just expanded to creating the ability to nurture or support. So far I have agreed with much of the information I have collaborated, and feel that without this hormone there would be no attraction, no bonding, no capability to survive without the mother support, and no reproductive capabilities. We shall see what else I will uncover.

RJA #9a: MLA-Style Annotated Bibliography

 Websites:

Post, Bryan. "Natural Oxytocin, Anxiety and Depression." Oxytocin Central. Oxytocin Central, 23 Mar 2011. Web. 21 Oct 2011. <http://oxytocincentral.com/2011/03/natural-oxytocin-anxiety-depression/>.

•  This source provides scholarly information relating to my topic by linking Oxytocin to the balance of stress, anxiety, and depression which is widespread in our nation. This article promotes Oxytocin's role in balancing out Cortisol (stress producer) and helps stabilize people in the depressive/anxious state. Source is written by a well educated author who is the Managing Editor of Oxytocin Central, as well as a internationally renowned clinician, lecturer and best-selling author. The website it self looks very well managed and updated with recent news stories regarding the world of Oxytocin and the research which goes along with it.

Robinson, Marnia, and Gary Wilson. "The Big O' Isn't Orgasm." Reuniting. Reuniting, 23 Jun 2005. Web. 21 Oct 2011. <http://www.reuniting.info/science/oxytocin_health_bonding>.

•    Marnia Robinson and Gary Wilson, provided a very interesting article on the effects of oxytocin during love making and presented the importance of this hormones role in bonding and safety of offspring. The article seems to be written in a casual manner and is up to date with the current year. The credibility of Marnia Robinson is quite outstanding, she was a corporate attorney who received degree's from Brown and Yale and also wrote many books and hundreds of articles on the evolutionary biology on intimate relationships including oxytocin. Her husband is Gary Wilson who taught anatomy and physiology for years and is a neuroscience enthusiast. Very qualified writers, who prove to contain up to date information on oxytocin's negative and positive effects.

Books:

King, Gordon J. Reproduction in Domesticated Animals. 6. 9. Elsevier Health Sciences, 1993. 144-150. Print.

•     Gordon J. King is a author, electrical engineer, and biologist, writing many books ranging from electrical circuitry to the reproduction of animals. I picked up this book because Gordon J. King provides solid research which includes the bonding effect induced by oxytocin. He also goes into the reason behind the creation of the bond between two organisms which proves to be a key element in the reproduction process. This source is a little out dated but can still provide the basic fundamentals of bonding.

 

RJA #8c: Field Research Plan

For my field research part of my argumentative paper I am in the processes of writing the questions I am willing to ask during my interviews. I will be conducting 3 different types of interviews with a few different sources. First off I plan on interviewing my parents in order to gain their perspective on their generations' view of love and how it works. I also have two good friends in the Hana Flintova and Jana Flintova Medical Research department that might provide me some insight

RJA #8b: Background Essay Plan

Thesis:  Many Chemists believe that the role of the hormone "Oxytocin" is the key factor which allows the human species to bond and connect providing security for the rest of the family.

• Oxytocin is a hormone and neurotransmitter. Once believed to confine its effects to inducing labor and milk ejection, oxytocin actually has far-reaching effects on both sexes. You could not fall in love without it. (reuniting.info)
• These days it goes by nicknames such as "the bonding hormone," "the cuddle hormone," and even "the love hormone."(reuniting.info)
• Oxytocin is the reason why people with pets tend to recover more quickly from illness, why married people tend to live longer, why support groups benefit those with cancer, addictions and chronic disorders, and why care-giving primate parents, whether male or female, live longer than the non-care-giving parents.(reuniting.info)
• Our brains are hard-wired to become distressed when we’re suddenly pulled from those we depend on physically or psychologically. So it’s not necessarily surprising, then, that oxytocin’s calming effects lend credence to its reputation as a hormone of relational repair. (oxytocincentral.com)
• some of the hormone’s main functions are preparing a female’s body for childbirth, stimulating milk “let-down” so that a baby can properly feed, and facilitating the bond between a mother and a newborn infant.(oxytocincentral.com)
• When the fetus is ready to be born, it releases oxytocin, which starts a process that causes the mother’s pituitary gland to release more of the hormone. Once the hormone is released, it causes the uterus to contract, which in turn helps push the baby out.(wisegeek.com)
• Once the baby is born, oxytocin helps to encourage the mother-child bonding. (wisegeek.com)
• hormone stimulates the nurturing and maternal instincts (wisegeek.com)

RJA #8a: Summary

Oxytocin Health Bonding

http://www.reuniting.info/science/oxytocin_health_bonding

• Oxytocin is a strong peptide made up of nine amino acids shaped into a ring. This hormone is much more than just a neurotransmitter, it creates the world as you see it, the perspective you make and the personality you have in respond to the perspective. It is much more of a connection between life and yourself than a mood enhancer. It provides the sole base of bonding, appreciation, generosity and trust. Oxytocin allows mothers and fathers to become permanently attached to their screaming child at birth, it also provides counter to Cortisol, the hormone which causes stress in the brain. Oxytocin is produced in immensely huge amounts when with a partner and provides the self-satisfaction and belief that everything will be okay.

• Sentence1: "It provides the sole base of bonding, appreciation, generosity and trust"
  
  Sentence2: "It is much more of a connection between life and yourself than a mood enhancer"
  
  No Plagiarism detected
  
  Sentence3: "Oxytocin is a strong peptide made up of nine amino acids shaped into a ring"
  
  No Plagiarism detected
  
  Sentence4: "This hormone is much more than just a neurotransmitter, it creates the world as you see it, the perspective you make and the personality you have in respond to the perspective"
  
  No Plagiarism detected
  
  Sentence5: "Oxytocin allows mothers and fathers to become permanently attached to their screaming child at birth, it also provides counter to Cortisol, the hormone which causes stress in the brain"
  
  No Plagiarism detected
  
  Sentence6: "Oxytocin is produced in immensely huge amounts when with a partner and provides the self-satisfaction and belief that everything will be okay"
  
  No Plagiarism detected

 Diigo Library

BookMarks: (include highlights and sticky notes)

 Oxytocin and its Role in Reproduction and Behavior

BLOG - I dont want to forget this article on Intimacy

 

RJA #7a: Evaluation of Sources

Book:
The Chemistry of Connection: How the Oxytocin Response Can Help Find Trust, Intimacy, and Love

• Author: Susan Kuchinskas
• Publisher: New Harbringer Publications, 2009
• Link: Chemistry of Connection

Evaluation: Previewing this book gave me the fundamentals I was looking for in a book (a more personal approach), credibility (even though author has only written one book on this topic), cited works/bibliography, and citations after each statement. This book seems to reach out to my research topic in the bonding aspect of Oxytocin. I have decided if the author turns out to be disreputable or an extremist then the source will be effaced from my argumentative paper to make sure I remain scholarly and accurately credible.


Website: 
Oxytocin.org

• Author/s: Several credible qualified doctors who have completed clinical studies in a professional manner.

Evaluation: This website is an .org manner, but kept exclusively as library of data involving my topic. It includes very credible information written by highly educated individuals from universities across the globe (including doctors, teachers, experimentalists). The page is well kept, includes dates and citations for all of clinical and lab studies as well as any information provided. The audience focused on by this website is selectively for individuals who are interested in the progress research of Oxytocin.The purpose of the website is to provide accurate and precise information for further research. The rhetorical stand point the website has on the topic is unbiased and provides no sides to the argument except for extra information of the topic. This webpage is extremely timely with a solid table of contents transferring you directly to the source of information without any advertisements nor any broken links. Yes it is a primary material and cites all "original" sources in a organized and structured manner. No search engine.


Periodical/Article:

• Article Title: Methods for Cervical Ripening and Induction of Labor
• Periodical Title: AARP, American Academy of Family Physicians
  Author: JOSIE L. TENORE, M.D., S.M., Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois
  Date Published: May 15, 2003
  Volume/Pages: 67(10):2123-2128.

Evaluation: First off this source is very much scholarly and credible, found under the American Academy of Family Physicians Periodical which seems to provide quality information available to the general public. This article was written by a medical doctor primarily focusing on the progress of birth/labor. Pertaining to the purpose of Oxytocin in the labor process when it deviates from the plan, along with many substitutes used for the same purpose. A generally wide perspective is obtained from the article since the author himself is there when the Oxytocin is administered and see's the effects first hand. As for the credibility of this article, I entrust AARP to remain accredited during the process of developing the argumentative paper.

RJA #6c: Multimedia

•  11 Interesting Effects of Oxytocin
•  http://www.videosurf.com/video/11-interesting-effects-of-oxytocin-1323276862
• VideoSurf
• Oxytocin
• None, results were sufficient
• 10.04.2011
• # of Hits: 10-15
• Relevance: 5

•  News Cast - Oxytocin helps couples reunite and increase - Cortisol is opposite of Oxytocin
•  http://www.videosurf.com/video/oxytocin-helps-couples-reunite-and-increase-trust-1315932476
• VideoSurf
• Oxytocin AND Love
• AND/OR
• 10.04.2011
• # of Hits: 10
• Relevance of hits: 4

•  Dark Side of Oxytocin
•  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/science/11hormone.html?_r=1
• NYTimes
• Oxytocin's Negative Effects
• None
• 10.04.2011
• # of Hits: 2
• Relevance: 5

RJA #6b: Social Media

•  Blog - Kateruh, Elizabeth
•  http://kateruhelizabeth.xanga.com/753526366/i-dont-want-to-forget-this-article-on-intimacy/
• Xanga
• Oxytocin OR Pitocin OR Syntocinon
• OR/AND/NOT
• 10.04.2011
• # of Hits: 10
  
• Relevance: 2

•  BLOG - Pla2pus09 - Tasha (Life)
•  http://pla2pus09.xanga.com/694546879/snow-mid-wives-and-oxytocin/
• Xanga
• Oxytocin OR Pitocin OR Syntocinon
• OR/AND/NOT
• 10.04.2011
• # of Hits: 10
  
• Relevance: 2

•  BLOG - Mind Blog - Deric Bownds
•  http://mindblog.dericbownds.net/2011/10/psychological-resources-correlate-with.html
• Addictomatic
• Oxytocin AND Psycholog*
• AND , Wild Card *
• 10.04.2011
• # of Hits: Tons from different media sites
• Relevance of hits: 3

RJA #6a: Websites

• Chapter 7 in Endocrinology - Focus Pituitary gland
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22/
• InfoMine
• Oxytocin OR OC
• Several, including AND/OR functions, along with quotations for searching exact phrases but only 1 hit.
• Date accessed: 10/03/2011
• # of hits: 1
• Relevance: 2-3

•  About Oxytocin - PsychCentral.com
•  http://psychcentral.com/lib/2008/about-oxytocin/all/1/
• AllPlus - Meta-search engine
• Keywords: Syntocinon OR Oxytocin , Oxytocin NOT Vassopresin
• Mainly used AND/OR/NOT
• 10/03/2011
• # of Hits: 99
• Relevance: 4-5

•  Oxytocin Promotes Human Ethnocentrism - Counterargument?
•  http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/06/1015316108
• AllPlus
• Keywords: Oxytocin "promotes"
• Used the clusters provided by AllPlus to rid of repetitious results, digging :)
• 10/03/2011
• # of Hits: 3
• Relevance: 2 hits = 1, 1 hit = 4-5