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. ;)

Comments

[zenandtheart.livejournal.com]

hrm.. how does one find out if one is lacking this vital stuff?;)

[juldea.livejournal.com]

I don't know... the article said they hadn't yet checked how their research applies to humans.

[baronbrian.livejournal.com]

Links open in their own window as always.

Vole

Prairie Dogs

And now you know.

I remember reading somewhere about vasopressin being related to memory as well. Don't hold me to that but it's kicking around in my head that it has something to do with fighting Alzheimers.

[ex-dervish821.livejournal.com]

Possibly baronbrian's vasopressin levels are NOT that high. ;)

[baronbrian.livejournal.com]

It would seem so. ^_^

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Indeed. NOT the same. ;)

Interesting. Much research needs to be done on this, then...

[shogunhb.livejournal.com]

In female voles, it seems to be Oxytocin that is involved in pair bonding. Inject more oxytocin and they form pair bonds more quickly, block it and they have wild promiscuous sex with multiple partners. I wonder if there's sequence homology between the vassopressin recepter and oxytocin.

http://www.oxytocin.org/oxy/pairbonding.html

[alendres.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to figure out if you're bluffing?

[ex-dervish821.livejournal.com]

Bluffing? I guess it went right over my head (no surprise). I know Oxytocin IS related to bonding -- it's one of the chemicals involved in breastfeeding, and it helps bond the mother and baby. Of course, that's humans, not voles, but I assume a vole is a type of mammal.

[baronbrian.livejournal.com]

Yep. Think small shrew basically.

[shogunhb.livejournal.com]

Which part?

[juldea.livejournal.com]

I guess I should've read this before responding to your post, eh. ;)

Thanks for the site, though, I'm totally stuck in it.