Exploring women’s oxytocin responses to interactions with their pet cats

Background Extensive research has evaluated the involvement of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) in human social behaviors, including parent-infant relationships. Studies have investigated OT’s connection to human attachment to nonhuman animals, with the majority of the literature focusing on domestic...

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Autores principales:	Elizabeth A. Johnson, Arianna Portillo, Nikki E. Bennett, Peter B. Gray
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	PeerJ Inc. 2021
Materias:	Anthrozoology Human–animal interactions Oxytocin Domestic cats Felis catus Animal Behavior Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b996a27994904f9c9b235b9279a22f32
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b996a27994904f9c9b235b9279a22f322021-11-14T15:05:07ZExploring women’s oxytocin responses to interactions with their pet cats10.7717/peerj.123932167-8359https://doaj.org/article/b996a27994904f9c9b235b9279a22f322021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://peerj.com/articles/12393.pdfhttps://peerj.com/articles/12393/https://doaj.org/toc/2167-8359Background Extensive research has evaluated the involvement of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) in human social behaviors, including parent-infant relationships. Studies have investigated OT’s connection to human attachment to nonhuman animals, with the majority of the literature focusing on domestic dogs (Canis lupis familiaris). Utilizing what is known about OT and its role in maternal-infant and human-dog bonding, we apply these frameworks to the study of human-domestic cat (Felis catus) interactions. Methods We investigated changes in salivary OT levels in 30 U.S. women of reproductive age before and after two conditions: reading a book (control) and interacting with their pet cat. Participant and cat behavioral patterns during the cat interaction condition were also quantified to determine if differences in women’s OT concentrations were associated with specific human and cat behaviors. Results Our results revealed no changes in women’s OT levels during the cat interaction, relative to the control condition, and pre-cat interaction OT levels. However, differences in women’s OT concentrations were correlated with some human-cat interactions (e.g., positively with petting cat and cat approach initiation, negatively with cat agonistic behavior) but not all observed behaviors (e.g., use of gentle or baby voice) coded during human-cat interactions. Discussion This study is the first to explore women’s OT in response to interactions with their pet cat and has identified distinct human and cat behaviors that influence OT release in humans.Elizabeth A. JohnsonArianna PortilloNikki E. BennettPeter B. GrayPeerJ Inc.articleAnthrozoologyHuman–animal interactionsOxytocinDomestic cats Felis catusAnimal BehaviorMedicineRENPeerJ, Vol 9, p e12393 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Anthrozoology Human–animal interactions Oxytocin Domestic cats Felis catus Animal Behavior Medicine R
spellingShingle	Anthrozoology Human–animal interactions Oxytocin Domestic cats Felis catus Animal Behavior Medicine R Elizabeth A. Johnson Arianna Portillo Nikki E. Bennett Peter B. Gray Exploring women’s oxytocin responses to interactions with their pet cats
description	Background Extensive research has evaluated the involvement of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) in human social behaviors, including parent-infant relationships. Studies have investigated OT’s connection to human attachment to nonhuman animals, with the majority of the literature focusing on domestic dogs (Canis lupis familiaris). Utilizing what is known about OT and its role in maternal-infant and human-dog bonding, we apply these frameworks to the study of human-domestic cat (Felis catus) interactions. Methods We investigated changes in salivary OT levels in 30 U.S. women of reproductive age before and after two conditions: reading a book (control) and interacting with their pet cat. Participant and cat behavioral patterns during the cat interaction condition were also quantified to determine if differences in women’s OT concentrations were associated with specific human and cat behaviors. Results Our results revealed no changes in women’s OT levels during the cat interaction, relative to the control condition, and pre-cat interaction OT levels. However, differences in women’s OT concentrations were correlated with some human-cat interactions (e.g., positively with petting cat and cat approach initiation, negatively with cat agonistic behavior) but not all observed behaviors (e.g., use of gentle or baby voice) coded during human-cat interactions. Discussion This study is the first to explore women’s OT in response to interactions with their pet cat and has identified distinct human and cat behaviors that influence OT release in humans.
format	article
author	Elizabeth A. Johnson Arianna Portillo Nikki E. Bennett Peter B. Gray
author_facet	Elizabeth A. Johnson Arianna Portillo Nikki E. Bennett Peter B. Gray
author_sort	Elizabeth A. Johnson
title	Exploring women’s oxytocin responses to interactions with their pet cats
title_short	Exploring women’s oxytocin responses to interactions with their pet cats
title_full	Exploring women’s oxytocin responses to interactions with their pet cats
title_fullStr	Exploring women’s oxytocin responses to interactions with their pet cats
title_full_unstemmed	Exploring women’s oxytocin responses to interactions with their pet cats
title_sort	exploring women’s oxytocin responses to interactions with their pet cats
publisher	PeerJ Inc.
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/b996a27994904f9c9b235b9279a22f32
work_keys_str_mv	AT elizabethajohnson exploringwomensoxytocinresponsestointeractionswiththeirpetcats AT ariannaportillo exploringwomensoxytocinresponsestointeractionswiththeirpetcats AT nikkiebennett exploringwomensoxytocinresponsestointeractionswiththeirpetcats AT peterbgray exploringwomensoxytocinresponsestointeractionswiththeirpetcats
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Exploring women’s oxytocin responses to interactions with their pet cats

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