Will there be super soldiers, like Captain America, just down the track? Well, in mice it has been found that it is possible to stimulate the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), which is associated with “effortful behavior” and “social dominance”: T. Zhou (et al.), “History of Winning Remodels Thalamo-PFC Circuit to Reinforce Social Dominance,” Science, vol. 357, 2017.

Mice with the most active dmPFC usually won a dominance contest in an experimental dominance test tube, which involved pushing each other around. Mice with a less activated dmPFC usually lost. The inhibition of dmPFC reduced the effortful behavior of mice and led to mice losing in experimental tests.

On the other hand, activation of dmPFC produced instantaneous winning in the experimental set up. It was observed that the muscle strength of the mice did not increase during dominance displays. Thus, the Captain America idea is a way off, but stimulation of the dmPFC in humans may aid in producing the “winner effect,” increasing the probability of winning again, after a win. Maybe it could help uncuck the White male population, if it could be put in a handy to swallow pill form, or in the water supply, or beer.