In the first study of its kind, researchers have shown that using a drug called tolcapone can make us more sensitive to inequality. The FDA-approved drug increases the brain’s dopamine levels, a chemical that is believed to play an important role in social decision-making. Study leader Dr. Andrew Kayser of the University of California, San Francisco says that findings may lead to better treatment for mental illnesses such as addiction or schizophrenia.

"In a disease like schizophrenia, we know that dopamine metabolism is altered. And there's some controversy over exactly how, but we think that it is altered. And we know that schizophrenic patients often make poor financial decisions. Believe it or not, they're often overly generous. They often don't consider their own welfare as much as they should. They make poorer decisions than other people might make with their money, and so a long-term goal, years off, but a hope of ours, is that if this drug turns out to be useful in other studies, that maybe it would be helpful for a patient population like that."