Trust, stress, vulnerability and resilience: A preliminary attempt to plot out factors that keep us safe at HOME

The work reported in this dissertation outlines new applications for the tools of neuroeconomics studies. It builds on research carried out at the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies in determining the physiological mechanisms that drive prosocial behavior and the implications of the disruption of these mechanisms. Using the Human Oxytocin Mediated Empathy circuit (HOME) identified by Zak and Barraza (2009) as its point of departure, this dissertation outlines the findings of previous research that demonstrate how neuroeconomics can provide the framework for inductive modeling in economic research before moving on to explore how drastically the HOME mechanism can break down.The first chapter not only shows that the physiological mechanisms promoting prosocial behaviors are measureable, but also that they can be manipulated. Reporting the findings of previous experimental work elucidates how pharmacological manipulation of brain chemistry can switch on or switch off behaviors related to empathy, generosity and punishment. While the substance of these results is important, the form taken in the underlying research demonstrates a move from the deduction has characterized economic enquiry towards the inductive approaches employed in the natural sciences.The second and third chapters seek to identify physiological factors involved in the breakdown of trust and the disruption of the HOME system. They examine how traumatic experiences, particularly those related to betrayal in childhood, can result in lasting consequences---ranging from poor mental and physical health outcomes to identifiable differences in prosocial behavior associated with trustworthiness. Since individuals differ in their responses to such trauma, the research reported identifies genetic and environmental factors that foster vulnerability or resilience in the aftermath of severe and protracted childhood trauma, as well as physiological markers that indicate lasting changes in the HOME circuitry.Applying a neuroeconomics protocol to a clinical group provides preliminary data for a model that traces experience through physiological changes to maladaptive behavior. The results also identify genetic factors and environmental influences that mediate this sequence in determining vulnerability or resilience. These results have implications for health and welfare policies as well as organizational and institutional design in settings ranging from post-conflict reconstruction to urban revitalization.