UC Science Today

Could taking a pill make us more compassionate? In a new study at the University of California, Berkeley, researchers found people were more willing to distribute money equally when they were given tolcapone, an FDA-approved drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Co-author Dr. Andrew Kayser says that participants were given either tolcapone or a placebo and played a simple economic game in which they divided money between themselves and an anonymous partner.

"When people took the tolcapone, as compared to when they took the sugar pill, they didn't change how much money they gave away, but they did change how equal the distributions were. So we found that when people were on tolcapone, they wanted the distribution of the money to be more equal than when they were on the sugar pill."

Kayser says he hopes the study could potentially lead to better treatments for mental illnesses and other disabling conditions.

"Social dysfunction is reasonably widespread and we don’t have great treatments for it. And so our hope is that we can add another arrow to the quiver, so to speak."

Could taking a pill make us more compassionate? In a new study at the University of California, Berkeley, researchers found people were more willing to distribute money equally when they were given tolcapone, an FDA-approved drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Co-author Dr. Andrew Kayser says that participants were given either tolcapone or a placebo and played a simple economic game in which they divided money between themselves and an anonymous partner.

"When people took the tolcapone, as compared to when they took the sugar pill, they didn't change how much money they gave away, but they did change how equal the distributions were. So we found that when people were on tolcapone, they wanted the distribution of the money to be more equal than when they were on the sugar pill."

Kayser says he hopes the study could potentially lead to better treatments for mental illnesses and other disabling conditions.

"Social dysfunction is reasonably widespread and we don’t have great treatments for it. And so our hope is that we can add another arrow to the quiver, so to speak."

Could taking a pill make us more compassionate? In a new study at the University of California, Berkeley, researchers found people were more willing to distribute money equally when they were given tolcapone, an FDA-approved drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Co-author Dr. Andrew Kayser says that participants were given either tolcapone or a placebo and played a simple economic game in which they divided money between themselves and an anonymous partner.

"When people took the tolcapone, as compared to when they took the sugar pill, they didn't change how much money they gave away, but they did change how equal the distributions were. So we found that when people were on tolcapone, they wanted the distribution of the money to be more equal than when they were on the sugar pill."

Kayser says he hopes the study could potentially lead to better treatments for mental illnesses and other disabling conditions.

"Social dysfunction is reasonably widespread and we don’t have great treatments for it. And so our hope is that we can add another arrow to the quiver, so to speak."

Could taking a pill make us more compassionate? In a new study at the University of California, Berkeley, researchers found people were more willing to distribute money equally when they were given tolcapone, an FDA-approved drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Co-author Dr. Andrew Kayser says that participants were given either tolcapone or a placebo and played a simple economic game in which they divided money between themselves and an anonymous partner.

"When people took the tolcapone, as compared to when they took the sugar pill, they didn't change how much money they gave away, but they did change how equal the distributions were. So we found that when people were on tolcapone, they wanted the distribution of the money to be more equal than when they were on the sugar pill."

Kayser says he hopes the study could potentially lead to better treatments for mental illnesses and other disabling conditions.

"Social dysfunction is reasonably widespread and we don’t have great treatments for it. And so our hope is that we can add another arrow to the quiver, so to speak."

Traditional MRI technology uses a large magnetic field to produce very high quality diagnostic images.

"And that’s one of the appeals, but what my team is trying to do is kind of work at the other end of the spectrum with regard to the magnetic field and drop it to very, very weak magnetic fields."

Physicist Michelle Espy of the Los Alamos National Laboratory says that’s because large magnetic fields require multi-million dollar infrastructure and many Third World countries and combat support hospitals for our troops do not have access to MRI.

"So if an MRI is required to someone who’s injured in the battlefield, for example, they have to be transported often thousands of miles to a major medical center. We’ve also been talking about a more humanitarian direction to take the system in Third World countries. So, we’re trying to do MRI at much, much lower fields because it’s cheaper, lighter, easier to move these systems around, which should make them more accessible to a lot of people."

Traditional MRI technology uses a large magnetic field to produce very high quality diagnostic images.

"And that’s one of the appeals, but what my team is trying to do is kind of work at the other end of the spectrum with regard to the magnetic field and drop it to very, very weak magnetic fields."

Physicist Michelle Espy of the Los Alamos National Laboratory says that’s because large magnetic fields require multi-million dollar infrastructure and many Third World countries and combat support hospitals for our troops do not have access to MRI.

"So if an MRI is required to someone who’s injured in the battlefield, for example, they have to be transported often thousands of miles to a major medical center. We’ve also been talking about a more humanitarian direction to take the system in Third World countries. So, we’re trying to do MRI at much, much lower fields because it’s cheaper, lighter, easier to move these systems around, which should make them more accessible to a lot of people."

Traditional MRI technology uses a large magnetic field to produce very high quality diagnostic images.

"And that’s one of the appeals, but what my team is trying to do is kind of work at the other end of the spectrum with regard to the magnetic field and drop it to very, very weak magnetic fields."

Physicist Michelle Espy of the Los Alamos National Laboratory says that’s because large magnetic fields require multi-million dollar infrastructure and many Third World countries and combat support hospitals for our troops do not have access to MRI.

"So if an MRI is required to someone who’s injured in the battlefield, for example, they have to be transported often thousands of miles to a major medical center. We’ve also been talking about a more humanitarian direction to take the system in Third World countries. So, we’re trying to do MRI at much, much lower fields because it’s cheaper, lighter, easier to move these systems around, which should make them more accessible to a lot of people."

Traditional MRI technology uses a large magnetic field to produce very high quality diagnostic images.

"And that’s one of the appeals, but what my team is trying to do is kind of work at the other end of the spectrum with regard to the magnetic field and drop it to very, very weak magnetic fields."

Physicist Michelle Espy of the Los Alamos National Laboratory says that’s because large magnetic fields require multi-million dollar infrastructure and many Third World countries and combat support hospitals for our troops do not have access to MRI.

"So if an MRI is required to someone who’s injured in the battlefield, for example, they have to be transported often thousands of miles to a major medical center. We’ve also been talking about a more humanitarian direction to take the system in Third World countries. So, we’re trying to do MRI at much, much lower fields because it’s cheaper, lighter, easier to move these systems around, which should make them more accessible to a lot of people."

Traditional MRI technology uses a large magnetic field to produce very high quality diagnostic images.

"And that’s one of the appeals, but what my team is trying to do is kind of work at the other end of the spectrum with regard to the magnetic field and drop it to very, very weak magnetic fields."

Physicist Michelle Espy of the Los Alamos National Laboratory says that’s because large magnetic fields require multi-million dollar infrastructure and many Third World countries and combat support hospitals for our troops do not have access to MRI.

"So if an MRI is required to someone who’s injured in the battlefield, for example, they have to be transported often thousands of miles to a major medical center. We’ve also been talking about a more humanitarian direction to take the system in Third World countries. So, we’re trying to do MRI at much, much lower fields because it’s cheaper, lighter, easier to move these systems around, which should make them more accessible to a lot of people."

While it might be too late for seniors to learn to play a musical instrument, singing in a choir could be an easy and effective way for older adults to stay sharp. University of California, San Francisco’s Julene Johnson is currently running a study on the health benefits of seniors singing in choirs. She’s focusing on choirs because they’re easy for almost anyone to join.

"Singing in a choir is very accessible. And by that I mean you have your instrument, your voice, in your body. You don’t have to buy a musical instrument; you don’t have to take a few beginner lessons to get yourself up and going. You can essentially join a choir, whatever your musical background is."

Johnson says that implementing community choirs could also be relatively cheaper compared to other creative arts programs.

"We’re also doing a cost effective analysis with the idea that singing in a community choir might be a cost-effective way to promote health in the community. And the nice thing is, it’s something that can be easily translated into different cultures, into different centers, and places in the city."