{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.018167456556082148, 'fraction_numerical': 0.00315955766192733, 'mean_word_length': 5.21078431372549, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Announcement of 2016 Special Issue: The behavioural pharmacology of oxytocin.

Originally identified as a hormone involved in the regulation of childbirth and milk production, oxytocin is now known to be produced in specific cells in the brain where it is involved in a multitude of effects that go far beyond maternal bonding. Heralded in the popular press as ‘the love hormone’, oxytocin plays a prominent role in social bonding and communication. Not surprisingly, it has therefore been implicated in several major psychiatric disorders including social anxiety disorder, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders, all of which are accompanied by deficits in social behaviour and communication. However, in recent years, research into the role of oxytocin has gained momentum with the identification of its role in many other aspects of behaviour, including emotional regulation, reward and pain. As a result, the field is rapidly expanding, and as the options for affecting oxytocin neurotransmission increase, so too does our understanding of its essential role in the brain and in behaviour. The aim of this Special Issue is therefore to provide an in-depth overview of our current knowledge on the effects of oxytocin in both social and nonsocial behaviour.