Friday June 03, 2005

Trust in a bottle

They've done it. They've finally found a way to put trust in a bottle.

Scientists found that people playing an investment game were more likely to trust others if they inhaled a nasal spray that contained oxytocin...

So, is there a danger that oxytocin could be misused by merchants trying to get you to believe pathetic sales pitches? Antonio Damasio, a neurologist at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, told Nature.com that there shouldn't be much to worry about. In any event, advertising already appeals to the parts of your mind that produce oxytocin, he said.

"It lures you in with images of wonderful landscapes or sex, and it probably works in exactly the same way," Damasio told Nature.com.

( Jun 03 2005, 01:20:54 PM PDT ) Permalink Comments [0]