June 11 (Bloomberg) -- An unusual study of traders’ spit
may offer a taste of the future in how we understand what drives
markets -- and why they aren’t as stable and efficient as we
might hope.
Several years ago, two neuroscientists undertook an
experiment on the trading floor of a major investment bank in
London. Over eight consecutive business days, at both 11 a.m.
and 4 p.m., John Coates and Joe Herbert took samples of saliva
from the mouths of 17 traders. With these samples, taken before
and after the bulk of the day’s trading activity, they measured
the rising and falling levels of a number of steroid hormones,
including testosterone, adrenaline and cortisol.
