>The relationship between oxytocin and orgasms goes the other way.  Orgasms
>are not *triggered* by oxytocin responses.  Rather, an orgasms *triggers*
>the release of oxytocin.  There is no known link between the level of
>oxytocin in the body and the physical sensations of orgasm.

Okay, Kathy.  Can you or someone else explain the mechanism of
contractions in orgasms, then?  Is both smooth and striated muscle
involved? What is the pathway leading from stimulation to muscle
contraction?  Is there any purpose in oxytocin being released *after*
orgasm occurs, or is it more in the line of an "accidental" release in
the same manner as a woman hearing another baby, etc?

>Think about it:
>when a mother gets a shot of pitocin to induce labor, she doesn't start
>going "oh, yes, oh my, oh yes yes YES" like the scene in the cafe from "When
>Harry Met Sally."

I had to laugh when reading this;  I get your point.  Oxytocin causing
labor is something I was taught who knows where and when, and now you've
given me cause to go back and revisit that seriously. I pulled out my
physiology text, but it doesn't discuss orgasm, let alone the
relationship to oxytocin.  One section notes that "This hormone has no
known function in males, but in females it is known to stimulate
contractions of the uterus during labor and contractions of the mammary
gland alveoli and ducts......"

Question: what is the physical mechanism that triggers menstruation?  It
seems to me that I have some mild-type of cramps/contractions that help
to expel menstrual flow. I've also noted that the onset of menstruation
usually induces a purging-type of bowel movement which I've interpreted
to be similar to "labor diarrhea".  I've assumed that this was related to
hormonal changes of menstruation, but which ones? Does anyone have any
ideas about this?

Does anyone know if males and females both have oxytocin?  And is it
true, then, that outside of labor and lactation, they have no real
function physiologically?  Certainly a strong statement that oxytocin
plays a role in emotions, such as the feelings of love and bondedness,
however.

>Perhaps this woman has a genetic abnormality that results in the some stage
>in the process of oxytocin manufacture being blocked, or perhaps she has no
>oxytocin receptors -- no, you said she does have labor when given pitocin,
>so it can't be the receptors.  I would suspect a biochemical problem before
>a psychological problem.

Which is still my question--- does anyone know of such a genetic
abnormality, of such a biochemical problem, or of any relationship to
meningitis?  Of course I want to fully explore the physical possibilities
before the psychological. Is it possible to screen for oxytocin in the
blood as you would for prolactin?

-Lisa Marasco, BA, IBCLC