Rochester Institute of Technology

Zagreb, Croatia

Oxytocin Shapes the Neural Circuitry of Trust and Adaptation in Humans

Ines Perčić
PSYC 101: Introduction to Psychology – Section 803
Professor Dr. Ana Havelka Meštrović

November 6, 2021
Abstract

Trust is the headstone of all social interactions, enabling humans to form relationships, such as

friendship, love connections, family, and encouraging them to take social risks and connect with

others. However, humans are prone to betrayals of trust. The neuropeptide oxytocin is known for

increasing trust among humans and this research examines its direct effects on behavior

underlying trust and the adaptation to the breach of trust as well. Oxytocin was distributed to

participants intranasally, and the results were recorded using fMRI, with the whole research

procedure being double-blind. The participants that received oxytocin have shown no change in

their trusting behavior after receiving feedback informing them of several breaches of trust,

while participants which received placebo have shown a decrease in their trust. Different

outcomes of these two groups indicate an existing connection between neural systems controlling

fear, as in amygdala and midbrains regions, and behavioral adaptations to feedback received,

which happens in the dorsal striatum, suggesting them having control over oxytocin and its

effects on trusting behavior. The research has enabled further insight into mental disorders, such

as social phobia, being the world’s third most common mental disorder, and autism, both

displayed through fear and avoidance of social interaction.

Introduction

Oxytocin has a great impact, not only on humans, but other mammals as well and enables them

to form social attachments and affiliation, including parental care, pair bonding, and social

memory (Carter, 1998, 2003; Ferguson et al., 2002; Insel and Young, 2001; Lim and Young,

2006; Young and Wang, 2004). Moreover, it decreases stress responses and anxiety in social

interaction by affecting the amygdala, while it is an effective and powerful intermediary between

social interaction and cognition. It directly affects one’s readiness to bear risks that arise from

social interactions. It is important to study the oxytocin’s behavioral impact on neural circuity of

trust, especially since this is the first research to gain deeper insight into trusting behavior and

how individuals adapt after experiencing betrayal of trust. This research demonstrates how

individuals make decisions concerning trusting others and it follows their brain activity in the

process. The individuals have been included in a trust and risk game as they were making

investment decisions with real monetary stakes, and it was recorded both how they make the

trusting decision and how they react to learning that their trust has been breached several times.

Two individuals had interacted in the trust game anonymously, as one was the investor and the

other the trustee. Firstly, the investor had to decide whether he or she will trust the trustee to

transfer him or her a certain amount of money, which if he or she does, the amount available

increases. The trustee then must decide will he or she share the money equally with the investor

or will they retain the whole amount, which the investor later interprets as a breach of trust

towards the trustee. The investor experiences the same conditions in the risk game, but the only

difference is that on the other side of the transaction stands a computer in a lottery game and not

a human being. Previous research has shown that humans have an aversion to being betrayed by

others, but in nonsocial situations such as the lottery game, it does not have an impact (Kosfeld
et al., 2005). Respectively, oxytocin has an impact on increasing trust in social interactions, such

as in the trust game, while it does not have an impact in a nonsocial situation such as the risk

game. The importance of the research also lies in studying the connection between brain

structures that process fear, such as the amygdala and brainstem, and their potential involvement

in the whole trusting process. The amygdala has, for one, an important role in risk processing in

social situations. The hypothesis states that oxytocin might have an impact on the amygdala and

its response to social risks that arise, meaning oxytocin facilitates prosocial approach behavior,

in this case, trust.

Methods and Research Process

The study included 49 male participants from different universities in Zurich, Switzerland with a

mean age of 21.7 +-2.5. The participants were chosen to be only male, to avoid the differences

among sexes in the levels of oxytocin. They were randomly assigned to two groups, one which is

to receive oxytocin and one placebo, with the whole procedure being double-blind. The

participants in the oxytocin group have received oxytocin intranasally, as in 3 puffs per nostril 50

minutes before involving them in the experiment. Altogether, they have played 12 rounds of a

trust game anonymously, against 12 human partners meaning social interaction involved, and 12

rounds of a risk game against a random mechanism lacking social interaction. In the trust game,

the investor was engaging in trusting behavior when transferring money to the trustee, which in

turn, could decide whether to make a feedback transfer or retain the whole amount and breach

the investor’s trust. It was important to ensure a 50% probability that the investor will receive the

money-back from the trustee. The risk game follows a similar procedure, with the difference in

lack of social interaction as on the other side of the transaction was a computer mechanism

making random decisions. The participants' mood and physical state as in calmness and
awareness, was assessed during the experiment using a 40 questions questionnaire. The

participants' brain activity during the previously mentioned games and their pre-feedback and

post-feedback phases was recorded and analyzed using fMRI.

Results

The participants who were in the placebo-receiving group have demonstrated a decrease in the

trust after learning their trust has been breached as their partner did not repay the money. The

ones who previously received oxytocin did not show any change in their trusting behavior after

learning about the betrayals in the trust game. The risk game has resulted in no behavioral

adaptation in both groups. The results indicate that oxytocin only affects behavioral adaptation

when social risks are involved and results in no adaptation when nonsocial risks were present. It

is important to state that the subjects in the oxytocin group needed significantly less time in the

decision-making process. The fMRI scans respectively show stronger activation in amygdala and

midbrain regions during the post-feedback phase of the trust game and no activity in case of risk

game, following previously disclosed results.

Discussion

This research is the first to demonstrate the effects of feedback information on behavioral

adaptation concerning trust and risk-taking. The results are consistent with the hypotheses and

indicate that oxytocin does not affect the behavioral adaptation of subjects who face nonsocial

risks in the risk game. On the other hand, the subjects are exposed to social risks in a trust game

where the ones in the placebo group decrease their trust after being given feedback information,

while the subjects in the oxytocin group show no change in their trusting behavior, regardless of

receiving the same information. Both groups have demonstrated no change in willingness to take

risks after receiving the feedback.

The subjects in the risk game did not experience trust aversion or fear, since on the other side of

the transaction was a computer mechanism, hence social risks were excluded. In contrast, in the

trust game, the participants experienced fear and aversion towards betrayal from their partner’s

side. The fact that subjects in the oxytocin receiving group have needed far less time to make a

trusting decision can be interpreted as oxytocin facilitating one’s challenge to overcome betrayal

aversion.

The results of this study carry great importance in further studying trusting behavior among

humans, as it is omnipresent in social interaction and an individual’s social life in general. It has

given valuable insight into human behavior in terms of the betrayal of trust, as humans have a

natural tendency to believe in others’ benevolence and fear the potential betrayal. Moreover, it

has facilitated understanding and further examining social phobias and how they develop and

function, as well as how to treat them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, oxytocin is a crucial mediator of human social interaction. It increases one’s trust,

as well as facilitates to overcome betrayal aversion. The hypothesis has been confirmed and has

stated that oxytocin might have an impact on the amygdala and its response to social risks that

arise, meaning oxytocin facilitates prosocial approach behavior, in this case, trust. It has been

demonstrated to affect individuals’ making of trusting decisions when social risks are involved

as well as to have no impact in the absence of those same. The study has revealed significant

new insights regarding neural circuity of trust adaptation and oxytocin’s impact on it, opening

the path for further studies. Humans are complex beings and are impossible to completely

understand and explain, which is why every research is important and brings are one step further

to understanding and revealing the mysteries of the human mind and behavior.
References

Baumgartner, T., Heinrichs, M., Vonlanthen, A., Fischbacher, U., Fehr., E. (May 21, 2008).

Oxytocin Shapes Neural Circuity of Trust and Trust Adaptation in Humans. Center for the Study

of Social and Neural Systems, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of

Zurich.

Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P.J., Fischbacher, U., and Fehr, E. (2005). Oxytocin increases

trust in humans. Nature 435, 673–676.

Carter, C.S. (2003). Developmental consequences of oxytocin. Physiol. Behav. 79, 383–397.