Between utility and cognition: the neurobiology of relative position

A positive correlation between relative position and the neurotransmitter serotonin exists in non-human primates, within an optimal range. This paper explores the reasons of this correlation. The main function of serotonin appears cognitive: it determines how optimally agents perceive and behave in game theoretical interactions, and this can explain the correlational finding. Among humans, within the optimal range scrotonin works as a form of human capital, capable of improving the work functioning of agents who respond to serotonergic promoter treatment. Limitations of the existing evidence are also discussed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.