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Drug Thy Enemy
Jon Proctor
Researchers in Switzerland gave 29 test subjects a sniff of the neuropeptide oxytocin, a.k.a. the “love drug,” known to play a role in developing trust and social attachment in mammals, before having them play a financial investment game.
The result? Almost half of the trust-primed oxy sniffers handed all their francs to an anonymous partner. Now insiders say the military may be in the process of weaponizing oxytocin and similar compounds.
Lead researcher Michael Kosfeld, who conducted the study at the University of Zurich, says the true value of oxytocin may be in treating people with social-anxiety disorder or to help relieve some symptoms of autism and Asperger’s syndrome. But Jonathan Moreno, a bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the book Mind Wars: Brain Research and National Defense, believes such a drug could find a place in facilitating interrogations and negotiations, or in ending armed conflicts.
FEAR FACTOR You don’t have to worry about a used-car dealer spraying you with oxytocin—according to Kosfeld, it’s almost impossible to aerosolize a dose. But squirted up the nose, the drug might induce cooperation during interrogations.
The field is just getting started. Last year, bioethicist Malcolm Dando warned that calmatives are part of a paradigm shift in the biochemical-weapons world and that we shouldn’t weaponize drugs, especially if we don’t fully understand them. Recent Israeli research on human subjects, for instance, suggests that oxytocin might also increase antisocial behavior.
WORRY METER Medium-High
Jon Proctor
Researchers in Switzerland gave 29 test subjects a sniff of the neuropeptide oxytocin, a.k.a. the “love drug,” known to play a role in developing trust and social attachment in mammals, before having them play a financial investment game.
The result? Almost half of the trust-primed oxy sniffers handed all their francs to an anonymous partner. Now insiders say the military may be in the process of weaponizing oxytocin and similar compounds.
Lead researcher Michael Kosfeld, who conducted the study at the University of Zurich, says the true value of oxytocin may be in treating people with social-anxiety disorder or to help relieve some symptoms of autism and Asperger’s syndrome. But Jonathan Moreno, a bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the book Mind Wars: Brain Research and National Defense, believes such a drug could find a place in facilitating interrogations and negotiations, or in ending armed conflicts.
FEAR FACTOR You don’t have to worry about a used-car dealer spraying you with oxytocin—according to Kosfeld, it’s almost impossible to aerosolize a dose. But squirted up the nose, the drug might induce cooperation during interrogations.
The field is just getting started. Last year, bioethicist Malcolm Dando warned that calmatives are part of a paradigm shift in the biochemical-weapons world and that we shouldn’t weaponize drugs, especially if we don’t fully understand them. Recent Israeli research on human subjects, for instance, suggests that oxytocin might also increase antisocial behavior.
WORRY METER Medium-High
