A dialogue on Philosophy of Mind and Related Matters
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Oxytocin and Mindreading
This entry was posted on 9/9/2007 9:23 AM and is filed under Mindreading.
9/10/2007 7:19 AMAnibal wrote:
The nanopetide, oxytocin, has been implicated in grooming, parent-offspring relationship, afiliative ties, female delivery during parturition or labor (enhance vaginal dilatation), milk ejection, trust...
Above all of these behaviours the more clearly associated with this hormone synthesize and secreted by large secretory cells within circunscribed areas of the hypothalamus (supra-optic and paraventricular nuclei) are those of sexual and maternal functions specific of mammals (see, Thomas Insel 2003).
I don´t think that oxytocin can be a central component in any mechanism of theory of mind abilities. It can urge, bootstraping or ignite the need to affiliate or pair-bond, but theory of mind abilities require high-level mechanisms such us thoughts, inferential reasoning, memory schemes, cultural rules, situational factors or social sripts that relief the burden to process a miriad of social and emotionally laden information generating roles or stereotypes...
Oxytocin is necessary but not sufficient.
Also,it is controversial the existence of the vomeronasal organ or supplementary olfactory bulb in humans responsible for the detection of pheromones. Reply to this
