2024-03-02 09:00:00
Scientists have long wondered how sex is linked to lasting love. To answer this question, they studied a small mammal called the American prairie vole, which is known for forming long-term monogamous relationships.
Because of their excellent pairing abilities, American prairie voles have become the target of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin to study the formation of long-term monogamous relationships in humans. The courtship process of these voles is so rapid that by the time you come back from the refrigerator to get a beer, they are already raising the next generation. Within 30 minutes of meeting, the male and female will mate multiple times, and within 24 hours a lifelong pair bond is established.
In their study, the scientists found high activity in 68 brain regions associated with the three stages of mating, bonding and building a lasting relationship. This research may provide clues for future studies of human pair bonding. Surprisingly, they also found that the brain regions active in males and females were nearly identical.
A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, including Professor Steven Phelps, has created for the first time a map of brain regions active during mating and pairing in American prairie voles. The study found that the voles experienced a storm of brain activity during the pairing process, involving 68 different brain regions, forming seven brain networks. These brain activities are associated with three behavioral stages: mating, intimacy and the formation of stable and long-lasting relationships.
Previous research has concluded that male and female brains tend to use very different mechanisms to produce the same behaviors, such as mating and caring for offspring. But in this study, the males and females in the pair showed nearly identical patterns of brain activity.
Professor Phelps said: “This was a surprise. Given that sex hormones such as testosterone, estrogen and progesterone are important for sex, aggression and parental behaviour, the common hypothesis was that brain activity during mating and pairing would also differ between sexes. It’s different.”
Relationships between the sexes are established extremely quickly, showing similar brain activity patterns
Scientists have used light-sheet microscopy imaging techniques to create detailed reference models of the brains of prairie voles and mice. They analyzed the brains of nearly 200 different individuals and obtained precise images of the brain structures of these species. In addition, the study found that voles, whose brains are approximately 1.39 times larger than mice, were able to explore active areas of the brain related to social behavior. (Photo/eLife)
Compared with humans, the courtship process of prairie voles is lightning fast. Within half an hour of being together, a male and female pair begin mating and will do so multiple times, often multiple times within an hour. Over the course of a day, their bonding behavior can lead to a lifelong bond between the pair of voles. Once bonded, they groom each other, comfort each other during stress, defend shared territory, and raise offspring together.
The researchers were able to identify with high resolution the vole brain cells that are active at different stages of the pairing process. This is the first time this method has been applied to prairie voles. By studying more than 200 voles at multiple time points during mating and pairing, the researchers generated a sizable database of data.
The researchers found that the strongest predictor of activity among 68 brain regions they identified was something they didn’t expect: male ejaculation, suggesting that the experience inspires profound emotional states — and not just in affected males. Females also showed more pair-related brain activity when mating with males who had reached this milestone.
Professor Phelps said: “Brain and behavioral data suggest that both partners may be experiencing orgasm-like responses and that these ‘orgasms’ orchestrate the formation of a relationship. If this is true, it means that orgasms can serve as a bonding-promoting process. Means, as humans have long suggested.”
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Source of the first picture: Tomorrow Science
Image Source:eLife cc By4.0
Reference papers:
1.Sexual coordination in a whole-brain map of prairie vole pair bondingeLife
Further reading:
1. Mating is more important than sleep — for these marsupials
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#Animal #Chronicles #RevealedLove #Lessons #Learned #Voles #Neurological #Mysteries #Monogamy #Science #Tomorrow