An experimental weight-loss drug, retatrutide, which targets three appetite-related hormones, is generating reports of 'emotional flattening' among some users, who claim it can make them 'fall out of love'. The drug is still in clinical trials but has already been sourced illegally online by some individuals.
Viral TikTok videos feature users describing a 'weird theory' that the drug reduces cravings not only for food but also for emotional connections. Comments include accounts of 'severe anhedonia' and feeling 'unbothered by 99% of everything'. Similar reports have surfaced for approved GLP-1 drugs like Mounjaro.
Medical researchers are investigating whether these drugs act as a 'general reward dampener' by targeting the brain's mesolimbic system, which processes reward and pleasure. Dr Naveed Asif, a GP from London General Practice, notes that GLP-1 medications can affect libido by influencing smooth muscle activity, blood flow, and dopamine levels, potentially impacting sexual function and emotional well-being.
Professor Paul Kenny, a neuroscientist at the Icahn School of Medicine, describes the widespread use of GLP-1 drugs as a 'huge experiment', with researchers only beginning to understand their behavioural effects. He suggests that because GLP-1 is linked to energy status and reward processing, it is plausible that these drugs could shape emotions and social interactions.
