Oxytocin
Hormonal Approved · Worldwide Human trials
Also called Pitocin
A nine-amino-acid hormone made in the hypothalamus. In the body it drives uterine contractions in labor and milk let-down during nursing. In the brain it shapes bonding, trust and responses to fear and stress, which is the focus of most current research.
Evidence at a glance
- Evidence
- Human trials — Studied in people
- Status
- An approved medicine in Worldwide
- Dosing
- A dose has been tested in humans
The social effects are context-dependent and smaller than early reports suggested. Large autism trials were negative.
What studies report
- Established medical use for labor induction and postpartum bleeding
- Increased trust, eye contact and social attention in experimental studies
- Trials in autism, social anxiety and PTSD have given mixed and mostly disappointing results
How it works
A centrally acting neuropeptide underlying bonding and social behaviour, alongside its established role in labour and lactation.
Where it acts
Pituitary glandThe library groups this compound under Hormonal. The diagram shows that target, not every tissue it reaches.
Illustrated
AI-generated subject illustration; not a depiction of the compound or evidence of its effects.
Why people take it
Reasons people seek it out — not a list of proven effects.
In practice Off-label
- Used as a nasal spray situationally for intimacy and social connection
- Tried by some for social anxiety, where trial results have been disappointing
Reported real-world use, not evidence and not a recommendation.
Dosing
What was tested Evidence
- 24 IU intranasal, single doseThe standard dose across social and behavioural neuroscience studies→ Effects on trust and social attention; results inconsistent across replications
What people report using Not evidence
- Used situationally as a nasal spray
- Clinical IV use for labour is a separate, dosed-by-clinician matter
Reported for reference, not as instruction. Nothing here is a recommendation to take anything, and most of these compounds are not approved for human use.
Status: Approved medicine for inducing labor and controlling bleeding after birth. Other uses are experimental.
- Route
- Intranasal spray, or injection in clinical use
- Sequence
- Cys-Tyr-Ile-Gln-Asn-Cys-Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 (disulfide 1–6)
- Formula
- C43H66N12O12S2
- Molecular weight
- 1007.2 g/mol
- CAS
- 50-56-6
- Available as
- 10 mg
Search PubMed for Oxytocin → We link a live search rather than a fixed citation list, so it stays current and nothing here is a reference we have not checked.
Educational information only. Nothing here is medical advice, a dosing protocol, or a recommendation to use any compound. Most entries describe substances not approved for human use. Talk to a licensed clinician before acting on anything you read here. How to read these entries.