Word: vasopressin
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...talk about the ones who don't. You say that one gene in particular - which scientists first started studying in voles - may play a role in infidelity. It's called the vasopressin receptor gene. The prairie vole, which is monogamous, bonds with one female for life, even if he's presented with other, fertile females. His cousin, the montane vole, is kind of a hit-and-run guy. He doesn't stick around at all. Scientists found that the montane vole had a short version of the vasopressin receptor gene, and the monogamous one had a long version...
...humans they have identified, so far, about 17 different lengths of [the vasopressin receptor gene]. There are several studies that have shown that those males with the longer version are more likely to be married, and their wives are more likely to say they have a happy, successful marriage and there hasn't been any infidelity. The ones with the shorter ones are more likely to be bachelors...
...faded. We all know the symptoms: idealized thoughts of the loved one; swings of mood from ecstasy to despair, insomnia and anorexia; and the intense need for signs of reciprocation. Even the brain chemistry is different: lust is fueled (in both sexes) by testosterone, and companionate love by vasopressin and oxytocin. Romantic passion taps the same dopamine system that is engaged by other obsessive drives like drug addiction...
...prairie vole, form long pair bonds with their mates, as human beings do. Others, such as the montane vole, have only transitory liaisons, as do chimpanzees. The difference, according to Tom Insel and Larry Young at Emory University in Atlanta, lies in the promoter upstream of the oxytocin-and vasopressin-receptor genes. The insertion of an extra chunk of DNA text, usually about 460 letters long, into the promoter makes the animal more likely to bond with its mate. The extra text does not create love, but perhaps it creates the possibility of falling in love after the right experience...
Doctors warn about the risks of taking prescription drugs or even food supplements without medical supervision. One smart bar in San Francisco started serving drinks laced with a potion called DMAE, for dimethylaminoethanol, that has induced severe cramps, diarrhea and chills in some users. Prescription medicines like vasopressin, normally used to prevent dehydration in patients with a rare form of diabetes, can trigger heart attacks in people suffering from coronary-artery disease. Even some of the seemingly harmless amino acids, when given to animals in large doses, have proved dangerous and sometimes deadly...