MOOD MEDICINE

HOW drugs change our behaviour: Beta blockers reduce bias PROPRANOLOL is a beta blocker that reduces blood pressure by blocking effects of adrenaline and noradrenaline, making the heart beat with less force.

But propranolol also hinders memory and reduces the patient’s racial bias, according to University of Oxford studies, since adrenaline triggers emotional responses and helps form memories.

In an experiment, those given a 40mg dose of propranolol were found to be less biased in a test of racially biased behaviour, such as sorting words like ‘joy’ and ‘evil’, and black and white faces, into categories.

Professor Julian Savulescu, director of the university’s Institute for Science and Ethics said: ‘It raises the possibility that unconscious racial attitudes could be modulated using drugs, [which] requires careful ethical analysis.’