Viagra: make with the lovin'

This may seem counterintuitive, but bear with me: it seems like Viagra might actually encourage "feelings of love" and "social bonding" in men who use it.

Now you might be thinking to yourself, "Oh, please, the only thing Viagra encourages is heart attacks and unsafe sex practices among speed freaks," but if that's what you're thinking, you're just a gol durn cynic. Listen to this:

Viagra, known generically as sildenafil, raised levels of the hormone oxytocin in rats, the team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said in a report published in the Journal of Physiology.

This hormone is involved in nursing and childbirth but also in orgasm and feelings of sexual pleasure.

And it seems Viagra and related drugs act on the part of the brain that controls release of oxytocin, said Wisconsin physiology professor Meyer Jackson.

"This is one piece in a puzzle in which many pieces are still not available," Jackson said in a statement. "But it raises the possibility that erectile dysfunction drugs could be doing more than just affecting erectile dysfunction."

Of course, we need more research to prove it, but it's an intriguing avenue, given that emotional dysfunction is probably as common as erectile dysfunction among men. But the best part about the article is this delightful quote from one of the researchers:

"I hope that this doesn't cause some wild orgy of inappropriate recreational use."

Well, shoot, I guess my Saturday plans are off.