'Love hormone' in birds makes them more generous: Study reveals

New Delhi : Love is all around us. Not only human beings, but birds do have “love hormone” which makes them more generous to their friends.

Health experts say that human brain has Oxytocin, a chemical messenger that plays a role in regulating behaviours as diverse as empathy, orgasms and bonding between mothers and babies.

Besides 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.”

Scientists observed the effect of Oxytocin in humans and other mammals which can be applied to birds.

 Dr Duque and his team investigated the Pinyon Jay bird which is a highly social bird related to crows.

Pinyon Jays are popularly known to voluntarily share food with each other. In animals, the kind of actions for the benefit of others is often termed “prosocial”.

The scientists wanted to create if mesotocin, like its human equivalent, had a role in guiding social behaviour.

They has set up experiments in which Jays were given the option to feed themselves and also their fellow birds in neighbouring cages with tasty mealworms. These experiments confirmed that the Jays were often willing to provide their fellows with food.

Experts directed solutions containing very high concentrations of the bird “love hormone” into the noses of their jay subjects and then observed their interactions with each other.

They found that the mesotocin boost was enough to make the birds more generous, as proved by their increased willingness to share food.

The findings of these experiments were documented in the journal named Biology Letters.

Having established that, like oxytocin in mammals, mesotocin appears to play an important role in bird pro social behaviour, the scientists explain why Jay bird show kind behaviour.

“One possibility is that food sharing and other prosocial behaviours are tied to social bonds – formation of new bonds as well as maintenance of pre-existing ones,” said Dr Duque.

“Thus, pinyon jays might use various prosocial behaviours as an affiliate behaviour; a way to increase their social connections.”