Oxytocin and Learning for Teaching

One well-established cognitive theory propose a divide between social and non-social (i.e.,
cognitive) systems. However, recent work suggests that traditionally social systems can be
utilized to enhance cognitive performance. In this study the investigators aim to explore
this cooperation between oft-competing systems by instructing participants to learn
information because they will be subsequently tested (the nonsocial learning-for-testing
condition), or because they will be teaching the information to someone else (the prosocial
learning-for-teaching condition). This latter condition relies upon the mentalizing system,
which is used to contemplate another person's mental state, rather than traditional memory
systems. This implies that the mnemonic powers of the mentalizing system can be leveraged in
the learning of a broad array of non-social topics. Furthermore, there is also an emerging
literature on the role of oxytocin, a neuropeptide naturally produced in the hypothalamus,
in memory that parallels the social/nonsocial split. Oxytocin may benefit the
learning-for-teaching group both in terms of enhancing initial social motivation and
efficient use of the mentalizing system and then also in terms of memory consolidation for
this information learning under socially-motivated conditions.

The investigators expect to replicate the basic learning-for-teaching effect such that those
in the teaching condition will remember more than those in the testing conditions. They also
expect an interaction between oxytocin administration and learning condition such that
oxytocin administration should enhance learning for socially-motivated learning exclusively.