Scientists have discovered that the hormone oxytocin might help wallflower overcome embarrassment in social situations. The chemical nicknamed "the hormone of love" is known to increase empathy and loyalty - especially parents and their children. But now researchers have found, it improves the social skills of shy - but has little effect on those who are naturally confident. The finding could have implications for people with severe social deficits that are often significantly under conditions such as autism.
Israeli researchers at the Seaver Autism Research and Treatment Center and Columbia University was to investigate whether the hormone that occurs naturally in the body, we could be more understanding of others.
They performed a test of 27 healthy adult men, which they fulfill the hormone or a placebo via a nasal spray and then asked her a "empathic accuracy task" - the powers of reading the thoughts and feelings of other measures.
This included watching others discuss emotional moments in her life, then rating how they felt people were feeling.
The scientists, whose research is published in Psychological Science, was also measured the participants social skills, using a test known as AQ, which is commonly used in autistic patients.
They found that oxytocin did improve powers of empathy - but only among those who were less socially competent in the first place.
The more socially comfortable participants are well on the empathic task independently of whether they were on oxytocin or placebo.But less socially competent participants significantly better identical to oxytocin, with her sensitive performance with the powers of the end of more participants.
Prof Jennifer Bartz of Mount Sinai School of Medicine said: "Oxytocin is generally accepted to all people for more empathy and understanding others. "Our study appears to contradict, dass Instead oxytocin only for those who are less socially competent help. "Our data show that oxytocin selectively enhances social cognition in people who are less socially competent, but little affected the socially competent people."While more research is needed, these results highlight the potential of oxytocin is for the treatment of social deficits in people with diseases marked by deficits in social functioning such as autism."