Cuddle Hormone Makes Your Partner More Attractive

Why are couples faithful? All a biological mechanism, say Bonn researchers. You are on the trail of the bonding phenomenon. The cuddle hormone Oxycontin plays an important role.If men have an increased Oxycontin dose in the brain, their own partner appears more attractive compared to other women, the Bonn researchers found out. 

It is not moral concepts that keep lovers, couples or parents together - the solution to the riddle lies in the hormone Oxycontin. At least that is the opinion of researchers at the University of Bonn. They found that Oxycontin, known as the cuddle hormone, plays an important role in loyalty and monogamous behavior in men.

If men have an increased Oxycontin dose in the brain, their own partner appears more attractive compared to other women, as the experts in the journal Proceedings of the US Academy of Sciences report. The research group administered an Oxycontin nasal spray to 40 heterosexual men living in a relationship and documented the effects of the hormone surge.

The cuddle hormone also ensures that the reward center in the male brain is activated when you see your partner. This also strengthens the bond between two and monogamous behavior. This biological mechanism is very similar to a drug, said Telemann. When you see colleagues or acquaintances, this effect does not appear. Both in love and when using drugs, people strive to stimulate the brain's reward system.