Studies of married couples, soccer and hockey teams focus on brain's response...( PITTSBURGH Men's World Cup Soccer: More...),Health

PITTSBURGH Men's World Cup Soccer: More than 700 players their countries' heroes representing 32 teams, each vying to claim one of sports most coveted titles. It may take more than good coaching and a strong squad to win. Who takes all may be decided by the team with the most testosterone. Indeed, research has shown that levels are elevated in men during competitive sports. Now, a new study reported by Portuguese researchers at the 6th International Congress of Neuroendocrinology (ICN 2006) shows increases in the male hormone give female soccer players the winning edge as well.

But what if your opponent is not a sports rival but instead your spouse? A team of Swiss and American investigators report at ICN 2006 that a nasal spray with the hormone oxytocin can reduce stress during marital conflict. ICN 2006 takes place June 19 22 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh.

Summaries of the studies' findings and two others, one involving Canadian hockey players and the other looking at how the brain is affected by chronic stress, follow:

Testosterone fuels competition in women
Female and male athletes have more in common than just the desire to compete: Both produce more testosterone in the heat of competition, making greater amounts of the hormone when they win.

Researchers from the Institute for Applied Psychology (ISPA) in Lisbon, Portugal, collected saliva samples from players in the Portugal Female Soccer League championship game before and after the match. According to Rui Oliveira, Ph.D., associate professor, who led the study, the women produced increased levels of the hormone in anticipation of a match, a finding previously associated only with men. Moreover, as has been observed by other studies on their male counterparts, the female athletes' testosterone levels remained high after winning a contest, while levels returned to baseline in the losers. There was no significant difference
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20-Jun-2006

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