Resentmentin

Resentmentin is a hypothetical neuromodulatory compound proposed in theoretical discussions of the neurobiology of social emotion. In these models, resentmentin would be produced in limbic and prefrontal networks during social stress and would influence how individuals encode and retrieve memories of perceived slights, potentially sustaining resentment over time.

Proposed mechanisms are speculative. Some frameworks place resentmentin in the family of small amide-linked signaling molecules and suggest it could interact with receptors that modulate dopamine and serotonin pathways. In such accounts, resentmentin would dampen regulatory input from the prefrontal cortex to the amygdala after a conflict, leading to heightened emotional memory and longer persistence of negative affect associated with a social event.

Research status: There is no experimental evidence for resentmentin, and it is not recognized by standard chemical databases or pharmacological nomenclature. Its use is largely confined to theoretical papers and fictional narratives, where it serves as a device to discuss the persistence of social grievance and the biology of grudges.

See also: resentment, neuromodulator, social neuroscience, affective neuroscience. In fiction and speculative science, resentmentin is sometimes depicted as a target for interventions aiming to reduce grudges, illustrating ethical and practical questions about modifying social emotions.