Socialising makes women more happy

Washington: A study led by Georgia State University on the brain mechanisms that determine the rewarding properties of social interactions now finds that women find same-sex social interactions to be more rewarding than males. The study also found that females are more sensitive to the rewarding actions of oxytocin (OT) than males. Speaking about the study, lead author of the study Dr. Elliott Albers, said, “Recognising gender differences in social reward processing is essential for understanding sex differences in the occurrence of many mental health diseases and the development of gender-specific treatments for psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, substance abuse and schizophrenia.” The research team further found that while oxytocin acting within the ‘reward circuit’ in the brain is essential for the rewarding properties of social interaction in both males and females, females are more sensitive to the actions of oxytocin than males. Furthermore, the team found that as the intensity of social interactions increases among females, these interactions become more rewarding up to a point and then are ultimately reduced.