A nasal spray to shed your shyness!

on
NoseUniversity of Zurich researchers have created a spray that can relieve people of shyness, and help them socialise with others.

The spray is very easy to use, and an individual can boost self-confidence just by squirting it up the nose.

The researchers say that the spray harnesses the powers of a feel-good hormone called oxytocin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is involved in social recognition and bonding.

The mammalian hormone is produced naturally by the body when a person is in love, and it also induces labour in pregnant women. The spray contains a synthetic version of it, created in the laboratory.

University researcher Dr Markus Heinrichs says that the spray was found to "dramatically" change the behaviour of 70 adults during a study. He says that all study participants had stopped feeling anxious, and started to engage better with others in the group.

Source: Yahoo News
Image: TangoPango / Flickr
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Comments

Anonymous said…
This isn't exactly new. Heinrichs has been testing people's reactions to inhaled oxytocin for a few years. And there are already US patent applications on using oxytocin to treat autism and social disorders, migraines, sleep apnea and symptoms of menopause.

See Oxytocin for headache: http://www.hugthemonkey.com/2007/04/oxytocin_for_he.html

Phase 2 Trial of Oxytocin: http://www.typepad.com/t/app/weblog/post?__mode=edit_entry&id=31327734&blog_id=132133
17 July, 2007 23:47
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