This Drug Could Make You Less Selfish

The idea for the study stemmed from the observation that humanity became more self–centered and less concerned with others during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than view the issue as purely a social construct, the team wanted to investigate the role the brain’s natural activity plays in influencing social outcomes. They devised a game in which a food reward was delivered to a mouse who was presented with the decision of whether or not to share with nearby peers. 

They found that altruistic choices were “modulated by familiarity, sex, social contact, hunger, hierarchical status and emotional state matching.” Through this, they identified the neurons associated with generous behavior, and introduced chemicals to inhibit them. This allowed them to map out the neural activity associated with selfishness and prosocial behavior, which could eventually help understand extreme human behaviors like sociopathy, psychopathy, and antisocial violence.