A role for Serotonin in Moral Behavior

Researchers enhanced serotonin in healthy human volunteers with citalopram, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor and antidepressant. In judging moral behavior, these subjects became more likely to judge harmful actions as forbidden, but only in cases where the harmful actions were emotionally salient. The effect of citalopram on moral judgment and behavior was greater in individuals with high trait empathy. The study concluded that serotonin could promote prosocial behavior by enhancing harm aversion, a prosocial sentiment that directly affects both moral judgment and moral behavior.

Crockett MJ et al., Serotonin selectively influences moral judgment and behavior through effects on harm aversion. Proc. Natl. acad. Sci. USA 107: 17433-17438 (2010).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20876101

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