Brain Ethics has found an intriguing study which suggests that giving people the hormone oxytocin makes them better at reading emotion from other people’s eyes.
Oxytocin is a hormone that also works as a neurotransmitter, and is known to be involved in bonding experiences.
It is released during sex, and also when mothers breast feed their infants.
A 2005 study published in Nature [pdf] suggested that oxytocin increased trustfulness in people playing a co-operative investment game.
This study, published in Biological Psychiatry, is the first to suggest that the a burst of the hormone actually makes us better at perceiving others’ emotions.
The full text of the study is available online as a pdf file if you want to get more details about the research.
Link to Brain Ethics article ‘Oxytocin is the window to the soul’.
pdf of full-text of scientific study.
Mind Hacks 
I find this very interesting. Has any research been done to apply this new information outside of the clinical setting?
I wonder if oxytocin (pitocin) could be used to treat people on the autism spectrum. Reading non-verbal cues is such a difficult deficiency to remediate and it is a critical skill for communication.
Is there a way to stimulate the part of the brain that naturally produces oxytocin? Or are the neurotransmitters the problem?
Thank you for your blog. I read it almost daily. I am pleased to learn of your new adventure in Dublin. I look forward to reading about what you learn working with children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities.
~s