Chemical in the brain that controls sexual preference
March 27th 2011 19:36
Chinese researchers have identified a chemical in the brain that controls sexual preference in mice.They found that male mice lose their normal preference for females if they have low levels of serotonin.Instead,they try to mate with either males or females.It is the first time that a neurotransmitter has been shown to play a role in sexual preference in mammals,according to the researchers.They first bred male mice whose brains were not receptive to serotonin.
When just a male was introduced into the cage,the modified males were far more likely to mount the male and emit a mating call normally given off when encountering females than unmodified males were.Similar results were achieved when a different set of mice were bred.These lacked the tryptonphan hydroxylase 2 gene,which is needed to produce serotonin.However,a preference for females could be restored by injecting serotonin into the brain.
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