Archive for September, 2008
That dude is such a vole.
(submitted by RH) When they say that people in love have a certain chemistry, there may be something to it. Some time ago, it was observed that voles of different species can have remarkably different behaviour. In general, very few animals are monogamous, but Prairie Voles practice an unparalleled fidelity. While their close cousins are the studmuffins of the meadow. The difference appears to be in their response to vasopressin- a hormone with many functions, among them regulating blood pressure in response to stress.
However, both species (Prairie and Meadow Voles) have similar levels of vasopressin. The difference appears to lie in where the receptors for the hormone are expressed. Those animals with one or two copies of the gene that is driven to be expressed in the brain are more faithful than those that do not have the receptor. This was confirmed when the gene was transfered in to the straying Meadow Voles, which then became doting spouses.
The gene has been identified in humans along with variants in the gene coding for the enzyme that produces vasopressin. Those men with two copies of the variant allele report consistent relationship problems. No doubt, KwikKits that test for this gene will be on store shelves soon.