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Male prairie
voles (Microtus ochrogaster ) seem to be able to go
from literally "playing the field with the lady
voles to being loyal to just one partner all
because of just a small change in a gene in their
brains.
Miranda Lim of
Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, made
this discovery by a process called " viral vector
V1aR gene transfer into the ventral forebrain."
which basically means they used a virus to transfer
a single gene in the brains of a vole. and then
measured their monogamous behaviour.
So what does this
all say about monogamy? Well in this case the gene
acts with a number of other genes but it is quite
interesting because the effect is so strong.
What about
people?, well it may not suggest very much because
human monogamy is a rather complicated affair due
to a much bigger brain but it is possible some
similar genes may turn on and off in humans from
time to time.
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