If it were available, would you pop a pill that would ensure you'd never cheat again?

A Japanese research team says they have analyzed how a certain antibacterial medication can affect the way men think and the decisions they make. The conclusion? An antibiotic may make men stay faithful.

"This study demonstrated that minocycline is the first drug shown to reduce the honey trap effect on young males," wrote the authors of the study.

The term "honey trap" refers to the false sense of trust created by the arousal a man feels when he comes in contact with an attractive woman. Instead of evaluating how trustworthy a woman is based on normal social factors, a man in this situation is like to be overcome entirely by her attractiveness.

The researchers in this study bet that they could find some pharmacological means of helping men overcome the perils of the honey trap.

They started with minocycline - an antibiotic typically used for respiratory infections such as pneumonia and is known primarily for inhibiting the spread of the infection. It is also sometimes prescribed to help address acne and skin infections like MRSA and Lyme disease. In addition, the pill form of the medication medication was recently evaluated for alleviating the symptoms of particular mental disorders including depression and schizophrenia.

Researchers from Waseda and Kyushu University split 98 males involved with the study into two groups. They gave one group oral doses of minocycline and the other a controlled placebo.

Participants were then shown a series of eight photos featuring attractive women and were asked to decide how trustworthy each woman appeared to be.

Men were given 1,300 yen and asked to distribute the funds to each woman in the group - they were told to give the most money to the women that they found most trustworthy and the least money to the woman that seemed least trustworthy. The idea was that, presumably, if you gave a woman more money, she would be less likely to betray you. The men were also asked to gauge how attractive each female was.

A chart showing how the researchers tested whether or not an antibiotic could affect a man's likelihood of cheating.

The men were unaware that all the women had been told to betray every man no matter the amount of money they were given.

By the end of the study, researchers found that before taking minocycline, a male's perceived trustworthiness towards woman depended solely on her looks. However, after taking minocycline men were able to look beyond attractiveness, and make a more logical decision.