"There's a cocktail of chemicals going on in the brain, and one of them is oxytocin," Young explains. In female voles, oxytocin combines with dopamine to create a strong sense of attachment. Produced in the hypothalamus, oxytocin is profoundly linked to a range of social behaviors, including maternal bonding, attachment forming, and reading and recognizing social cues. Meanwhile, female voles depend more on oxytocin (although males release the hormone also). It's more of a possessive bond." Studies have shown that when male prairie voles are injected with a chemical that prevents the release of vasopressin, they fail to bond with their female mates. "The vasopressin system stimulates territorial behavior. "Male voles produce vasopressin," explains Larry Young, a researcher at Emory University whose research specializes in the social behavior of prairie voles. I always want to date people I have sex with, even if I hate them. For male and female prairie voles, researchers have thus concluded, vasopressin and oxytocin are the magic ingredients for lifelong monogamy, binding the two together, until death do them part. ![]() Tests show that when male voles are given a dose of vasopressin-or females of oxytocin-the animals bond on sight with the nearest potential mate, before mating even occurs. In studies, researchers isolated two hormones responsible for these enduring bonds: oxytocin and vasopressin, both of which are released during prairie vole sex. Given a choice, the animals-which hail from the woodlands of Europe and Asia-will choose to hang out with their partners exclusively, groom each other, and eventually nest together. The rodents are beloved among scientists attempting to elucidate the mysteries of human love: Unlike 97 percent of mammals, they're monogamous, and vole couples form extremely strong attachments to one another. Much of what we've come to know about love is through prairie voles. While many parts of human cognition remain a total enigma, scientists have isolated a few hormones and brain structures that may be responsible for those insane texts you sent the other night. Romantic attachment works in mysterious ways it's thought to be the result of a complex cocktail of hormones, neurobiological processes, and social conditioning. "I always want to date people I have sex with," says 25-year-old Lucy, "even if I hate them." ![]() It's an all-too-familiar situation for many people: You decide to have sex with someone whose personality you find repugnant, whom you have no interest in dating, only to find yourself bizarrely attached to them in the morning. Read more: Smoking Weed Doesn't Mean You'll Have Better Sex "Every fiber of my being was screaming, Never let him go," she says. Still, she found herself enthralled with him afterward.
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