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Oxytocin May be Used by Military as Interrogation Tool

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:38:13 +0000

Oxytocin’s trust inducing properties have been widely documented in recent years, earning the hormone the tag of the ‘Trust Hormone’. However, where there is trust, there is always the potential for the abuse of trust, and some people have expressed concerns that it is only a matter of time before oxytocin will be used by nefarious individuals in order to dishonestly gain somebody’s trust.

Here, a writer speculates on whether the military will inevitably try to make use of oxytocin in order to break down enemies withholding information during interrogation :

In its current synthetic forms—over-the-counter “Liquid Trust” and “Oxytocin Factor” sprays—oxytocin would have little use for interrogators. But researchers are working on a pill that would stimulate oxytocin production in people’s brains, making the effect much stronger.

Instead of using interrogation techniques that threaten to harm detainees and have been repeatedly proven to be ineffective, interrogators could play “good cop” with detainees. With the added edge of oxytocin, they could “tip the balances a little,” says Larry Young, a researcher who studies the hormone at Emory University near Atlanta.

“The effects we’re seeing from oxytocin today are really just the tip of the iceberg,” Young says. “Instead of getting them to sniff the obvious bottle of oxytocin, we could put a pill in their coffee and cause their brain to be flooded with oxytocin. You’re not getting a truth serum, but you’re getting them to trust you.

Oxytocin the ‘Trust Molecule’

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:50:12 +0000

Paul Zakon has been studying oxytocin for over 10 years, and in particular the relationship that the ‘trust hormone’ has with our moral behaviour. He’s come to the conclusion that oxytocin is central to our sense of fair play – guiding our ability to trust others whilst controlling our natural inclination ‘not to be taken for a ride’. He’s about to publish a book about oxytocin entitled ‘The Trust Molecule’, and in a recent article for the Wall Street Journal he explains why oxytocin is so important to trusting others and in building an ethcial society :

But there is a larger payoff from this research: After centuries of speculation about human nature and how we decide what is the right thing to do, we at last have some news we can use—empirical evidence that illuminates the mechanism at the heart of our moral guidance system. So what can we do to shift behavior a bit more toward the expression of oxytocin and thus improve the workings of our entire society?

The experiments I have conducted show that many group activities—singing, dancing, praying—cause the release of oxytocin and promote connection and caring. As social creatures, we have created activities that prompt the expression of oxytocin in order to foster connection to others. In fact, those who release the most oxytocin when they are trusted are happier and healthier because they have richer social lives.

Even the sort of “social snacking” that happens through Twitter or checking out a friend’s Facebook page can prompt an oxytocin surge. But the real criterion for success is whether these online activities complement more substantial personal connections. Does this form of communication foster human bonds or does it foster anonymity and abstraction to the point of cutting off empathy?

Level of Oxytocin Predicts Length of Relationship!

admin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:54:08 +0000

Researchers have discovered that the levels of oxytocin the bloodstream of a newly smitten couple can predict how long their relationship will last – six months after the initial testing, couples with the highest recorded oxtycoin at the beginning of the experiment tended to be more likely to be still together.

The researchers concluded that oxytocin may play a similar role in the early bonding stage between new couples as it has long since been known to do in relationship between mothers and their new born babies.

It is thought that oxytocin spray may become a common part of relationship therapy for couples experiencing difficulties but who would like to stay together.

The people in new relationships had oxytocin levels that averaged nearly double those of singles. For couples who stayed together, oxytocin levels remained stable over a six-month period.

“These findings suggest that OT in the first months of romantic love may serve as an index of relationship duration,” the researchers wrote, using an abbreviation for oxytocin.

In both singles and couples, levels of oxytocin did not depend on an individual’s gender, body weight, height, smoking status, use of contraceptive pills or sexual activity.

Couples with higher levels of oxytocin exhibited more affection during interviews, such as touching and eye-gazing. Such intimate behaviors may increase oxytocin levels and, in turn, increase a couple’s emotional involvement in the relationship, the researchers said.

Sources include : http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/24/10498476-will-new-love-last-check-your-oxytocin

How Oxytocin Influences Trust and Morality

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:16:30 +0000

Professor Paul Zak gives a TED lecture talk on the relationship between oxytocin and trust and morality. He explains how oxytocin is essential to a civilised and stable society. Many intelligent people are hopeful that oxytocin could help to make the world a better place. It lies at the heart of what makes us moral, and understanding it could be the key to building a better and more moral society.

Oxytocin Spray May Treat Social Anxiety

admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:04:11 +0000

Oxytocin spray may be used to successfully treat at least some forms of social anxiety, according to researchers at Concorida University. The researchers say that the naturally occuring drug oxytocin, if taken intranasally in the form of a spray, gave participants in the study a better developed sense of self-perception.

The research subjects were asked to inhale oxytocin spray and then write down how they felt 90 minutes later. According to the research team’s head Christopher Cardoso,

“Participants who self-administered intranasal oxytocin reported higher ratings of extraversion and openness to experiences than those who received a placebo…

…Specifically, oxytocin administration amplified personality traits such as warmth, trust, altruism and openness.”

Original Source : http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/12/12/oxytocin-spray-may-help-ease-some-social-anxiety/32457.html

Oxytocin Social Gene Can Be Recognised in People Within 20 Seconds

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 10:21:10 +0000

Those people possessing the oxytocin receptor genes linked to social traits such as empathy and sociability can be spotted by complete strangers within 20 seconds, according to research published last week.

The researchers had volunteers view video recordings of social interactions of people who had been tested to see whether they had the genes linked to oxytocin production, and hence sociability. The team found that the volunteers were correctly able to guess which subjects in the videos had the oxytocin genes and which hadn’t – in as little as 20 seconds of viewing each interraction.

Oxytocin has garnered tremendous interest as a possible source of therapy for those suffering from social skills handicaps, such as the shy and even the autistic. Supplements, such as Oxytocin Factor, have even started appearing on the market already.

Source : BBC – Social Gene Spotted in 20 Seconds say Researchers

Can Oxytocin Spray Treat Depression?

admin — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 07:53:39 +0000

The possible health benefits and medical uses of oxytocin seems unending. A study this month has claimed that the hormone spray could even be used to treat those suffering from depression.

According to Dr. Ziad Nahas, a researcher at the Medical School of South Carolina, when depressed subjects inhaled the hormone, their brain activity began to more closely resemble that of healthy subjects.

Oxytocin has been linked to social bonding and attachment, said Nahas, and acts as a stress reliever. Since depressed individuals feel anxious and socially disconnected, oxytocin might help them feel less depressed.

Psychologists have long known that social functioning and having a solid social support network plays a key role in physical and mental health. The widespread use of Oxytocin has been trumpeted by some visionaries, such as the philosopher David Pearce, as a way of promoting both social and personal happiness. Another study seems to have confirmed that oxytocin could become a revolutionary product that could transform society.

Source : http://depression.about.com/b/2010/10/29/hormone-shows-potential-as-antidepressant.htm

Oxytocin Spray May Cure Shyness

admin — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 07:53:19 +0000

The emotional bonding properties of the ‘cuddle hormone’ oxytocin may be used as a treatment to help shy people improve their social skills according to researchers. The study, conducted at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Israel, as well as Columbia University, indicated that oxytocin could improve awkwardness in people who are shy, although not it seems those who are naturally confident.

According to Jennifer Bartz, of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine :

our data show that oxytocin selectively improves social cognition in people who are less socially proficient, but had little impact on more socially proficient individuals.” While more research into the effects of oxytocin on shyness is needed, “these results highlight the potential oxytocin holds for treating social deficits in people with disorders marked by deficits in social functioning like autism

Oxytocin Spray Promotes Altruism

admin — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 07:52:58 +0000

A Dutch university study published last week found that oxytocin spray can promote ‘protective altruism’ between unrelated individuals who see themselves as belonging to the same group. The researchers discovered that oxytocin appears to strengthen feelings of solidarity and protectiveness amongst the ‘in group’ whilst increasing suspicion and hostility to the percieved ‘out group’. The scientists speculate that the findings may point to a role for oxytocin on the battlefield, explaining feelings of comradeship between soldiers and hostility to the enemy.

Oxytocin Spray A Mother’s Hug

admin — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 07:52:39 +0000

A popular name for oxytocin is the ‘cuddle hormone’, on account of the role that oxytocin plays in social bonding and feelings of empathy with others. A simple hug between partners, friends, or relatives, is known to raise oxytocin levels. Now a study into the effects of oxytocin has found that a mother’s phone call to her daughter can raise the oxytocin levels of the child as much as a physical hug or cuddle can. The findings are interesting because the shed light on the power oxytocin has in relationship building even via talk – in fact, in this case, solely through verbal communication.

Source : Mother’s voice as soothing as a hug