O Psiquiatra: Revista Clínica e Terapêutica

Abstrato

Reading together: The relation between the oxytocin and the reading out of loud

Thais Cristina Martino Sehn

Nowadays, reading together is usually associated with an activity address for someone with difficulty to understand the writing codec, like the children, that is not alphabetized, or with people who have vision problems. However, it was a social activity between adults until the eighteen century (Williams, 2017). Sonneschein and Munsterman (2002) identified that the quality of affect interaction is the principal children`s motivation for the interesting in books. Likewise, Peixoto and Leal (2008) show that the activity offers pleasure also to the readeradult, even if the reader does not have the habit of reading. The oxytocin is considered the hormone of love. Many studies show how the oxytocin changes in accordance with the activities and with who you are developing the action. Seltzer et al. (2010) demonstrates that the vocalization higher the levels of oxytocin in humans. The study proves that this hormone is produced in the same way with touch interaction or oral communication (without touch). Furthermore, Leslie et al. (2011) showed that the levels of oxytocin mushrooms with touch and vocal contact, but not change with a text message. The relation between the voice with the hormone was not tested yet between adults. The aim of this work is to do an experimental study, analyzing if it the level of oxytocin between couples will higher when they read out loud together, one for each other. This experiment will be done with a sample of 30 couples. The oxytocin of both (reading and listener) will be measured before and after the reading to analyze the change of the activity. The practice of reading out loud for a beloved one demands attention and dedication for both sides: the reader and the listener. Through the sharing reading, they might create a particular ritual to spend a moment that belongs only to them.

Oxytocin also appears to modulate broad profiles of social and emotional behaviors in both males and females. One hypothesis is that oxytocin supports affiliative behavior. Indeed, injections of oxytocin increase prosocial behaviors in a variety of species, including primates, voles, rats, and sheep. In humans, intranasal administration of oxytocin increases generosity, trust  eye gaze and the ability to infer the affective mental states of others Furthermore, assessments of plasma oxytocin in humans find that oxytocin levels relate to parent–child bonding behaviors  feelings of romantic love and trust , and empathy and subsequent generosity toward strangers.