Researchers who study maternal attachment have been zeroing in on oxytocin, a master hormone in mother-infant bonding. Oxytocin is also implicated in the experience of falling in love. Released when we touch, it also functions as a sex hormone in both females and males. . .
"In the presence of a baby," notes neuroscientist Sue Carter of Chicago's Psychiatric Institute, "both males and females will produce oxytocin, leading to tender, maternal-like feelings." How might this translate into other sorts of social attachment questions?
— Marc Ian Barasch, Field Notes on the Compassionate Life