Often referred to as the “love drug” or “love hormone”, oxytocin
has attracted increasing interest from researchers in recent
years. It was originally shown to modulate aspects of social
attachment and pair bonding in animals such as the female
prairie vole, whose monogamous nature is dependent on oxytocin.
Recent research in humans has shown that oxytocin increases
trust behavior in economic exchanges and increases perception of
trustworthiness in human faces, as well as promoting emotion
recognition and altruism. This evidence inspired hopes among
some, particularly in the mainstream media, that science might
have found a possible pharmacological target for humans who show
deficits in prosocial behavior. But recent evidence has
complicated the narrative a bit. Research has shown that
oxytocin plays a role in increased emotional reactivity to both
positive and negative social cues. For example, one study from
2009 (Shamay-Tsoory et al) had participants engage in a game of
chance with another player (the acto