Sex Differences in Salivary Oxytocin and Cortisol Concentration Changes during Cooking in a Small Group

Abstract

Background: Oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide, has positive effects on social and emotional processes during group activities. Because cooking is an integrated process in the cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional areas, cooking in a group is reported to improve emotion and cognition. However, evidence for efficacy in group cooking has not been well established at the biological level. Methods: To address this shortcoming, we first measured salivary levels of OT and cortisol (CORT), a biomarker of psychological stress, before and after group cooking for approximately 1 h by people who know each other in healthy married or unmarried men and women. We then compared the initial OT and CORT concentrations with those during individual non-cooking activities in isolation. Results: Baseline OT concentrations before group and non-group sessions did not significantly differ and OT levels increased after both types of activity in men and women. In men, however, the percentage changes of OT levels in the first over the second saliva samples were significantly small during cooking compared with those in individual activities. In women, however, such a difference was not observed. In contrast, the mean salivary CORT concentrations after group cooking were significantly decreased from the baseline level in both sexes, though such decreases were not significant after individual activity sessions. The sex-specific differences were marital-status independent. Conclusion: These results indicate that OT and CORT concentrations after two activity sessions by a familiar group changed in opposite directions in a sex-specific manner. This suggests that, because cooking is experience-based, we need to consider the sex-specific features of group cooking if we apply it for intervention.

Participatory Art Activities Increase Salivary Oxytocin Secretion of ASD Children

“…Indeed, our detected OT concentration range is one digit higher than that reported by other studies [ 15 , 39 , 40 ]. However, since we have detected the relative change in salivary OT in the context of physical interaction and/or in social interaction [ 32 , 34 , 41 ], although the values may not be reflecting the absolute physiological value of free OT, the relative change in monitored values are likely to be comparable.…”

“…The samples were divided into 1.5-mL microtubes, each containing 100 µL, and kept again at −80 °C until required for the assay. The salivary OT level was measured using a 96-plate commercial OT-ELISA kit (Enzo Life Sciences, Farmingdale, NY, USA), as described previously [ 32 , 33 , 34 ]. The measurements were performed in duplicate.…”

Effects of Food Art Therapy on the Self-Esteem, Self-Expression, and Social Skills of Persons with Mental Illness in Community Rehabilitation Facilities

“…Social skills have a pivotal impact on interpersonal relationships, social adaptation, and mental health, so social skills improvement is essential for the recovery and rehabilitation of people with mental illness. In particular, group cooking activities, such as food art therapy, develop motor skills and perceptual abilities of participants and support their social and emotional development [ 27 ]. In this study, food art therapy had a positive effect on improving the self-esteem, self-expression, and social skills of people with mental illness through the entire process of making food, sharing the food with other people, and clearing it.…”

Attenuated relationship between salivary oxytocin levels and attention to social information in adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder: a comparative study

“…Finally, some researchers have suggested that extraction is needed to measure peripheral OT levels using an enzyme immunoassay [55]. Although the method used in this study, without extraction, is a valid method for measuring peripheral OT levels [56,57] and is widely used [31,51,[79][80][81][82], future confirmation using extraction processing is warranted.…”