Trust...bottled?

Shakespeare told us to "love all, trust a few," even to "trust none, for oaths are straws." Despite such warnings, trust has always been at the centre of all human dealings -- romantic, commercial, or political -- even if the reasons for it have been murky.

But now Swiss researchers say they have finally isolated the secret: In oxytocin, we trust.

University students who inhaled the hormone in a nasal spray were discovered to be far more trusting of one another -- eager, in fact, to hand over money to strangers in investment deals.

The Globe and Mail

Wow, not quite what I had expected to read first thing in the morning at work. Needless to say the implications of this are quite huge, and the potential applications for a spray like this run the gamut from potentially wonderfull to downright terrifying. One one hand you could use something like this in the 40mm gas canisters that usually dispense teargas during riots, or on the other hand use it as a method of virtual mind control by pumping it into various public areas where distrust runs high (court houses, police stations, Capitol Hill). I have to wonder though if this is yet another flash in the pan discovery or if its something we will have to contend with in our daily lives if it gets accepted by the world at large?

HAH! WOW.

This is one of the greatest finds ever posted to ATS... Man, the possibilities with this one are ENDLESS. I voted for you for a WATS award.

My ex girlfriend could have used some of this stuff... I was probably the most trustworthy guy she knew, but she was always tripping anyway.

Zip

.
This is very possible and VERY scary.

Our emotion centers work using organic chemistry.
Our beliefs are based on emotion and absolutely not directly on fact.

I believe with the right chemistry you could manipulate a person to believe or do anything. It is quite a terrifying thought if it gets into the wrong hands.
Practically speaking the wrong hands are anyone elses but yours.

Perhaps we should be thinking of ways of counteracting things like this.
.

They say it would be a great way to treat autism where trust is a major issue...and I would agrre. But the other implications which you all are raising...well, isn't that the problem with technology???

Really there are no "right" hands for something like this, because to basically force someone to be trusting is wrong no matter how you slice it. If we are distrusting its usually for a reason, so why should it be chemically altered to be the opposite? While I can definately see the medical applications for those with disorders, I think this kind of technology is far too powerful for any human to control. Kind of scary to think that substances now exist to influence us basically against our will; is it really any different then getting someone drunk to pry information out of them or feeding a date some roofies to take advantage of them?

The human mind is made of cells, your thoughts have the mass of the neurons that carry them, and therefore are always, have always, and will forever be subject to outside influence chemically or otherwise.

The idea of controling someones emotions like trust are incredibly useful.
Not just in special situations, but to anyone who wishes.
Granted, the idea of someone using this to control you is somewhat unsettling, but no more than being hypnotised, and that isnt even a chemical reaction.

This will come, whether we like it or not, and I say be aware, and use it if you please.

Never did like some of the more pesky emotions like love anyways.

One of the researchers has the opinion that we are already under the influence of the hormone.

Worries may arise that crowds of people will be sprayed with oxytocin at political rallies or other events to induce trust in speakers, Damasio notes. However, he proposes that slick marketing strategies for political and other products probably already trigger oxytocin release in many consumers.

www.sciencenews.org...

This is the only thing I could find even close to countering the effects. There were a few sights that suggested that stress hormones inhibit our natural production of Oxyticin, but they wouldn't effect administered doses.

Tell your doctor if you drink alcohol or caffeine drinks regularly, if you are a smoker or if you use illegal drugs. These factors can affect the way Oxytocin works in your body.

www.talkmedical.com...

Thought everyone might want to see some possible military applications.....lol.

Most of us laughed pretty damn hard when we learned that the Air Force was thinking about spritzing enemies of freedom with aphrodisiacs, to temporarily turn them gay. But, apparently, some researchers at the University of Zurich found the idea downright inspirational.
The brains haven't found the so-called "gay sex bomb," yet. But they have come up with a hormone spray that makes folks almost comically naive, according to the Washington Post.

www.defensetech.org...

Great find Alternateheaven. I had never heard of this before, but it is scary.