Dr. Carter (S. for Sue, not C. for some actor I've never heard of) has responded to my query about oxytocin, but didn't have any specific information to offer. With the help of some abstracts from David Epstein and possibly Sandra Randall as well, I wrote back to her (she was curious too) as follows: I said: > > And the query: A claim attributed to Floyd Bloom was made on a > > discussion list I belong to that oxytocin levels are higher in the > > human male than in the female. I've been unable to verify this, and I > > wonder if you care to comment on this, preferably with a > > handy source. Then I later said: I've made a bit of progress. A correspondent who checked the Carmichael paper says it reports 2.5 picogram/mL for women vs 1.9 for men, plus women showed a larger rise during orgasm. That refutes the claim but I do find it surprising that the values are so very close. An earlier paper (Leake, 1981) instead reports no difference between men, non-pregnant women, or pregnant women before labour (1.5, 1.4, and 1.3 microU/ml). And still other papers find oxytocin elevated in pregnant women. It looks like there's no consensus on this, but at least the extreme claim that it's higher in men seems not to be supported. I've also discovered that Woods and Stricker (1999, p. 1104) state that the hypothalamus and pituitary of males contain as much oxytocin as those of females, but without reference. This is in a volume in which Floyd Bloom is one of the editors. As for the mysterious videotape in which Bloom is supposed to have made the claim, I haven't been able to find it. [I asked Michael Sylvester to identify it, but I guess he's too busy handing out awards] References Leake, R.D. et al (1981). Plasma oxytocin concentrations in men, non- pregnant women, and pregnant women before and after spontaneous labor. J. Clin. Endocrin Metab. 53, 730-3. Woods, S. & Stricker, E. (1998) Food intake and metabolism. In Fundamental Neuroscience, ed. Zigmond et al, including Bloom. -Stephen ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661 Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy Check out TIPS listserv for teachers of psychology at: http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------
