THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE Volume 14, Number 4, 2008, pp. 000–000 © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089/acm.2007.0660 An Exploratory Study of Neurohormonal Responses of Healthy Men to Massage DEBRA BELLO, Ph.D., R.N., 1 ROSEMARY WHITE-TRAUT, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., 2 DORIE SCHWERTZ, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., F.A.H.A., 2 HOSSEIN POURNAJAFI-NAZARLOO, M.D., Ph.D., 3 and C. SUE CARTER, Ph.D. 3 ABSTRACT Objective: This research examined the relationship between plasma oxytocin (OT), arginine vasopressin (AVP), cortisol, and anxiety before, during, and after a massage in healthy adult men. Design: A randomized, controlled, crossover, repeated-measures, prospective experimental design with sub- jects acting as their own controls was used. Setting: The research was conducted at a Midwestern University. Subjects: Fourteen (14) healthy men between the ages of 19 and 45 years of age were randomly assigned to the order of two conditions: a 20-minute massage (experimental condition) or a 20-minute reading period (control condition). Methods: Blood samples were collected at time intervals during each data collection session. Plasma OT, AVP, and cortisol levels were evaluated by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). The Spielberger State Anxiety In- ventory (SAI) and autonomic measures were recorded pre- and postcondition. Results: Both experimental (massage) and control (reading) conditions elicited a significant increase in plasma OT levels (p  0.05) and a decrease in SAI score (p  0.05) from pre- to postintervention. A significant pos- itive correlation was detected between plasma AVP and plasma cortisol (r = 0.63, n = 24, p = 0.001) in the massage group, whereas a significant positive correlation between plasma AVP and the SAI (r = 0.47, n = 25, p = 0.016) was observed in the reading group. No significant differences were observed for the autonomic mea- sures between conditions. Conclusions: The finding that plasma OT levels increased in both the massage and reading groups, suggests that tactile stimulus is not necessary for OT release. The results suggest that another unknown factor associ- ated with reduction of anxiety may be involved. 1 INTRODUCTION Role of oxytocin, arginine vasopressin, and cortisol The role of oxytocin (OT) is well known in relation to the onset and maintenance of labor and lactation. There is an expanding body of animal and human research that im- plicates OT as a neuropeptide involved in sociality, 1,2 and the management of stressful experiences. 3 Arginine vaso- pressin (AVP) is a closely related neuropeptide that also has been implicated in social behavior, but which tends to be associated with increases in stressful activity and acti- vation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. Oxytocin and AVP are components of a complex in- terneuronal communication that is only beginning to be understood. 4 1 Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Deerfield, IL. 2 College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL. 3 College of Medicine and the Brain Body Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL.