Gentle, Massage-like, Head Stroking Provokes Salivary Oxytocin Release

The evidence is growing that oxytocin (OXT), a hypothalamic hormone, can induce parturition and lactation, modulate affiliative behavior, and regulate stress and energy metabolism. Although the physiological effects of massage aren't fully understood, massage may affect OXT release and facilitate adaptive responses to stressors.

This study intended to examine the effects of gentle, massage-like head, stroking to determine whether it could have a direct influence on the release of OXT.

The research team performed a preliminary study.

The study was conducted at Kanazawa Medical University in Kahoku and Mizuho Hospital, Tsubata, Ishikawa, Japan.

Participants were 14 volunteers from Mizuho Hospital.

The 14 recruited participants were assigned to the massage group and received gentle, massage-like, head stroking, which lasted 60 minutes. Seven of those participants were randomly recruited to become a control group that rested only, without massage, on a different day than the massage occurred.

Participants' saliva for both groups was drawn at baseline and postintervention on the different days. Salivary OXT was assayed using a highly sensitive chemiluminescence immunoassay. Analyses were performed at baseline before the intervention and postintervention.

The OXT secretion increased significantly in the massage group unlike in the rest group, which had no change.

Gentle, massage-like, head stroking is an effective method of releasing endogenous OXT. These findings open up the possibility of using endogenous OXT as an adjunct therapy in both clinical and research settings.