‘Love hormone’ identified in birds that makes them more generous

Pinyon jays became more likely to share food when given high doses of 'bird oxytocin'

Josh Gabbatiss Science Correspondent 

Tuesday 10 April 2018 23:04 BST

The Independent Online

Administering birds with a “love hormone” similar to one found in humans, makes them more generous to their friends. 

Oxytocin is a chemical messenger found in the human brain that has gained popular recognition due to its role in regulating behaviours as diverse as empathy, orgasms and bonding between mothers and babies.

But despite its involvement in complex behaviours that seem very human, oxytocin is also found in other animals. 

“Oxytocin is what we call this hormone in mammals, however, the hormone itself is evolutionary ancient and found in animals that are only very distantly related to mammals,” Dr Juan Duque, a neuroscientist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln told The Independent..

“We call this hormone ‘mesotocin’ in birds, but this is essentially avian oxytocin.”

Less clear to scientists is to what extent the effects observed in humans and other mammals can be applied to birds.

So Dr Duque and his colleagues investigated the pinyon jay – a highly social bird related to crows.

Continued