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The Body’s Defense From Betrayal of Trust in Relationships

Medical research has found that the amazing human brain has another secret response we never knew about. Researchers at the University of Zurich have discovered that when someone betrays their partner with a violation of trust, the human body responds by secreting a hormone, which works to repair the hurt and preserve the relationship.

Oxytocin

The hormone oxytocin, cited in many articles on this website as a feel-good elixir stimulated by sexual orgasm and post-coital cuddling, turns out to have another important function in human behavior. While oxytocin has previously been proven to deepen the bond between mother and child when stimulated by breastfeeding, this new research has uncovered a more fascinating function relating to the preservation of trust between humans.

Lead by neuroscientist Thomas Baumgartner, the research team found that when a partner violates the trust of their partner, that wounded partner’s body secretes the hormone oxytocin, which works to preserve the feelings of trust and thereby protect the relationship’s continuance. 

In their studies, the scientists worked with two sets of volunteers, one who received oxytocin and a control group who did not. Those control group subjects who did not receive the oxytocin (only a placebo instead), responded to betrayals by a reduction in their level of trust. While test subjects who received oxytocin (via a nasal spray), did not alter their level of trust.

Amygdala

The lower level of trust is caused by a response in the brain’s emotional memory center, called the amygdala. This is the area that remembers every tragedy, traumatic accident and strong fear incident one has experienced. However, the brains of the subjects who received oxytocin showed a lower activation of response in the amygdala, despite the betrayal incident.

The new findings indicate that not did the amygdala not only showed less response in the areas that respond to fear, but also in a positive cooperation adjusting to a different behavior of re-experienc- ing trust.

Oxytocin Increases Levels of Trust in Other Types of Relationships

In another medical study, published in the journal Nature, scientists tested the administration of oxytocin among individuals involved in financial transactions among economic trading partners. Once again, the use of oxytocin increased the trust levels of the participants based on their interaction with others.

While for the medical scientists, this new research on oxytocin was hailed as a new understanding for treating mental disorders such as social phobia and borderline personality dysfunction, these findings serve to reinforce our faith in the brain’s support of relationship bonding and preservation. While other findings have sometimes led us to view long term relationships as a “campaign against the odds,” the reassuring knowledge that our brains are working on both conscious and subconscious levels to preserve our emotional bonds so crucial to human happiness.

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Sources: Oxytocin Increases Trust in Humans Nature 435:673-676 Oxytocin Increases Generosity in Humans Public Library of Science (PLoS ONE) 2(11): e1128 Neuropeptides and Social Behavior: Effects of Oxytocin and Vasopressin in Humans Progress in Brain Research Vol. 170 Social Support and Oxytocin Interact to Suppress Cortisol and Subjective Responses to Psychosocial Stress Center for Psychobiological and Psychosomatic Research Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland

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