Oxytocin is a peptide hormone that causes uterine contractions in childbirth and stimulates milk secretion from nipples. Do men have oxytocin?

Question

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What type of thinking is required?

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What do you already know about oxytocin? What other information is related to the question?

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Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?

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Answer 1

YES

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        · Do men have oxytocin?
What type of thinking is required?
            o This is an analyze question because you have to consider where oxytocin is produced and all of the roles of oxytocin in the body.

Gather Content
What do you already know about oxytocin? What other information is related to the question?
        · The hypothalamus produces oxytocin, and of course both men and women have a hypothalamus. Why would men produce oxytocin if it is primarily associated with childbirth and nursing? Oxytocin is sometimes called the “cuddle hormone” for its roles in pair bonding and sexual arousal, which it promotes in both sexes.

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        · You know that oxytocin is associated with childbirth and nursing which occurs only in females. You also know that oxytocin is produced by the hypothalamus of the brain, which is in both males and females. Why would oxytocin be needed in males who do not deliver babies? The answer is that oxytocin affects pair bonding and sexual arousal in both sexes, and so it is needed and produced by the hypothalamus in both sexes.

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        o Answering this question correctly depended upon understanding the roles of oxytocin, and determining which roles are appropriate for which sexes. If you got the answer correct, great! If not, where did you go wrong? Did you think that oxytocin was only involved in labor, deliver, and nursing of babies and thus would not be relevant for men?