biological explanation for polyamory?

[juldea]

Link from aleatoria!

Scientists have found a genetic link to monogamy in voles (which are prairie dogs, I think).

Previous research with captive male prairie voles, which form lifelong bonds with a single partner, indicated that the animals had high levels of vasopressin receptors in the ventral pallidum, a brain region closely associated with the reward system. In contrast, captive male meadow voles, which often take multiple partners throughout their lives, lacked vasopressin receptors. In the new work, Miranda M. Lim of Emory University and her colleagues inserted a gene that encodes for the vasopressin receptor protein directly into the brains of male meadow voles. The researchers then observed the animals' behavior as they were introduced to a variety of potential partners. They found that meadow voles treated with gene therapy acted more like their prairie vole counterparts--they spent more time huddling near their original companion.

londo has high levels of vasopressin receptors. ;)