Sex Differences in Salivary Oxytocin and Cortisol Concentration Changes during Cooking in a Small Group

Autor: Teruko Yuhi, Kosuke Ise, Kei Iwashina, Naoya Terao, Satoshi Yoshioka, Keijiro Shomura, Toshikatsu Maehara, Akari Yazaki, Kana Koichi, Kazumi Furuhara, Stanislav M. Cherepanov, Maria Gerasimenko, Anna A. Shabalova, Kouhei Hosoki, Hikari Kodama, Hong Zhu, Chiharu Tsuji, Shigeru Yokoyama, Haruhiro Higashida
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: Behavioral Sciences, Vol 8, Iss 11, p 101 (2018)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2076-328X
DOI: 10.3390/bs8110101
Popis: Background: Oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide, has positive effects on social and emotional processes during group activities. Because cooking is an integrated process in the cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional areas, cooking in a group is reported to improve emotion and cognition. However, evidence for efficacy in group cooking has not been well established at the biological level. Methods: To address this shortcoming, we first measured salivary levels of OT and cortisol (CORT), a biomarker of psychological stress, before and after group cooking for approximately 1 h by people who know each other in healthy married or unmarried men and women. We then compared the initial OT and CORT concentrations with those during individual non-cooking activities in isolation. Results: Baseline OT concentrations before group and non-group sessions did not significantly differ and OT levels increased after both types of activity in men and women. In men, however, the percentage changes of OT levels in the first over the second saliva samples were significantly small during cooking compared with those in individual activities. In women, however, such a difference was not observed. In contrast, the mean salivary CORT concentrations after group cooking were significantly decreased from the baseline level in both sexes, though such decreases were not significant after individual activity sessions. The sex-specific differences were marital-status independent. Conclusion: These results indicate that OT and CORT concentrations after two activity sessions by a familiar group changed in opposite directions in a sex-specific manner. This suggests that, because cooking is experience-based, we need to consider the sex-specific features of group cooking if we apply it for intervention.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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