Oxytocin, a hormone with roles in childbirth, milk release, and mother-infant bonding, may also play an important role in mammalian reproduction, according to a study in mice, led by researchers at NYU Langone Health, New York.
Publishing their findings in Science Advances, they found that elevated levels of the hormone oxytocin may induce 'diapause', where embryo development may be temporarily suspended for days or weeks after conception, in times of maternal stress and/or hardship.
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