The Human Animal BondThe Possible Role of Oxytocin. Department of Special Education, Institut f. Here, we review the evidence from 6. HAI) which met our inclusion criteria with regard to sample size, peer- review, and standard scientific research design. Among the well- documented effects of HAI in humans of different ages, with and without special medical, or mental health conditions are benefits for: social attention, social behavior, interpersonal interactions, and mood; stress- related parameters such as cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure; self- reported fear and anxiety; and mental and physical health, especially cardiovascular diseases. The federal government announced plans Thursday to lift a moratorium on funding of certain controversial experiments that use human stem cells to create animal embryos that are partly human. The National Institutes of Health is proposing a new policy to permit scientists to get federal money to make. The writer totally missed the really meaning of this verse. The word 'Dharma' is very significant in this verse. Eating, sleeping, fearing and reproduction are common activities performed by all living entities but among all living entities only human can understand and. Limited evidence exists for positive effects of HAI on: reduction of stress- related parameters such as epinephrine and norepinephrine; improvement of immune system functioning and pain management; increased trustworthiness of and trust toward other persons; reduced aggression; enhanced empathy and improved learning. We propose that the activation of the oxytocin system plays a key role in the majority of these reported psychological and psychophysiological effects of HAI. Oxytocin and HAI effects largely overlap, as documented by research in both, humans and animals, and first studies found that HAI affects the oxytocin system. The Human Animal BookAs a common underlying mechanism, the activation of the oxytocin system does not only provide an explanation, but also allows an integrative view of the different effects of HAI. Keywords: human- animal interaction, animal- assisted interventions, animal- assisted therapy, oxytocin, pet ownership, stress reduction. Introduction. During the last decades, animal assistance in therapy, education, and care has greatly increased. Today, the value of animal- assisted interventions . In the light of the rapid development of the practice of AAI, research evaluating the effects of AAIs as well as studies investigating the basic effects of human- animal interaction (HAI) and the underlying mechanisms seem to lag behind. Still, there is already quite a body of scientific literature on this topic. However, this is spread out over a number of journals and fields, constraining an integrative view. In the following, we will provide an overview of studies assessing effects of AAI as well as pet ownership which meet certain scientific criteria. In addition, we propose a common underlying mechanism for the majority of the positive effects of HAI: i. This system can be linked directly to many of the observed physiological effects of HAI and may also be indirectly associated with the other, mainly psychological, effects.
Thereby, we provide a coherent body of theory for integrating the diverse endocrinological, psychophysiological, and psychosocial effects of HAI found in different studies. Furthermore, we give a well- founded overview of scientifically documented effects of HAIs which today are a quite popular topic in the general literature, as are first speculations on underlying mechanisms including the oxytocin system (e. Olmert, 2. 00. 9). We will start our rationale with a review of the literature on effects of HAI and thereafter we will present a short overview of the oxytocinergic system and its psychophysiological effects. We propose that oxytocin (OT) release may contribute to explain many of the effects of HAI documented by the studies included in our review. Criteria for Inclusion of Studies in This Review. In this review we focus on the effects of HAI on psychosocial variables such as empathy and social interactions and on human physical and mental health, including effects on hormones and the autonomic nervous system assessed via variables such as heart rate or blood pressure. Effects could result from either companion animal ownership or animal contacts, in experimental settings or animal- assisted interventions. Studies not directly related to these topics were excluded, for example, on pet ownership and attitudes toward smoking, or other variables which could indirectly influence health or social contacts (e. Milberger et al., 2. Zimolag and Krupa, 2. Furthermore, we excluded the following contexts: reports on relations between human personality and animal- related issues; the link between animal abuse and interpersonal violence; attitudes toward pets in general or in connection with animal welfare. The prime criterion for inclusion was the publication of the original research in a peer- reviewed scientific journal. Mainly Medline and Psych. Lit were used for the article searches. Search terms were: HAI, AAT, animal- assisted activity, “therapeutic riding” and “equine facilitated therapy.” However, since we focus on psychosocial and psychophysiological effects in this review, studies employing horses in physiotherapy with a mere assessment of effects on movement or balance were excluded (e. Cherng et al., 2. Beinotti et al., 2. From several hundred publications found via the terms “pet,” “cat,” or “dog” we included relevant original research articles (see Table . The second criterion was that the study design allowed to attribute any effect found with a high probability to the animal interaction rather than to any other possible confounding variable. Hence, studies with a pre- post- measurement design, but without control group were excluded. The third criterion for inclusion was a sample size of at least 1. Original studies included in the review. Effects of Human- Animal Interaction. Effects on social interaction. Interacting with animals influences social interaction between humans and related factors important in this respect, such as trust, empathy, aggression, and a positive mood. Increased positive social attention from others and stimulation of social behavior. A relatively large body of research investigated the effect of a friendly animal on the perception of the human in its company and on the stimulation of social behavior. This is also called the “social catalyst effect” when it refers to the facilitation of interpersonal interactions. Hart et al. Wells (2. Labrador retriever pup, by an adult Labrador, by an adult Rottweiler, being in the presence of a teddy bear or a plant, or being alone as control conditions. In the alone condition, the experimenter was ignored more than with the teddy or plant, but got more attention in the company of a dog. The Rottweiler led to more non- responses than the pup or the adult Labrador, which elicited most smiles and verbal responses. Also, in a classroom of first- graders, the presence of a dog was associated with increased attention toward the teacher in comparison to class in the absence of the dog (Kotrschal and Ortbauer, 2. Interaction with an animal is per se a form of social behavior. The following research assessed the effect of animal presence on this aspect without further investigating effects in interpersonal behavior. Children with autism interacted most frequently and for the longest periods with a real dog in comparison to objects or a person (Prothmann et al., 2. Also children with pervasive developmental disorders (including autism) were more playful in interaction with a live dog compared to toys, and also more aware of their social environment in the presence of the dog (Martin and Farnum, 2. The following studies focused on the facilitation of interpersonal interaction by the presence of an animal, the social catalyst effect. Among children with autism the presence of a dog during occupational therapy was associated with greater use of language and more social interaction (Sams et al., 2. Similarly, therapeutic riding enhanced social motivation of children with autism (Bass et al., 2. Prothmann et al., 2. In adult patients with chronic schizophrenia dog- assisted therapy was linked to improvement in social contact, symptoms, and quality of life related to social relationships, but in comparison to a control group without a dog differences were not significant (Villalta- Gil et al., 2. In psychiatric inpatients, however, AAT lead to a significant increase in interactions with other patients over the course of 4 weeks in comparison to rehabilitation without animals. This included smiles, sociability, helpfulness toward others, activation and responsiveness (Marr et al., 2. Many animal- assisted interventions focus on elderly residents or patients. The presence of an animal positively influenced, e. Haughie et al., 1. Fick, 1. 99. 3). A comparison of observations of AAT and non- AAT recreational sessions in long- term care facilities showed that the animal involvement was linked to more frequent initiation and longer durations of conversations (Bernstein et al., 2. The visit of a person with a live dog as well as a robotic dog led to more social interaction than the person alone. From their reviews on the effects of animals- assisted therapy on patients with dementia, Filan and Llewellyn- Jones (2. Perkins et al. Paul and Serpell (1. In a classroom of first- graders, the presence of a dog led to a better social integration among students as documented via indirect psychometric indicators (Hergovich et al., 2. Kotrschal and Ortbauer, 2. Also adults profit from animal contact with regard to social relationships, such as patients with substance abuse in an AAT group program, who rated the therapeutic alliance with the therapist as more positive after 2. Wesley et al., 2. Schneider and Harley (2. When the dog was present, participants, particularly those with the least positive attitude toward psychotherapists, reported more general satisfaction with the therapist as well as more willingness to disclose personal information. Gueguen and Cicotti (2. In four different experiments, experimenters asked strangers for money in the street, young women for their phone numbers in public or observed whether people would help to pick up coins a male experimenter dropped on the street. The presence of the dog was linked to a higher compliance with the request for the phone number and a higher rate of helping behavior.
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