Scientists made an interesting discovery about mice

Mouse change to partners who drink less alcohol

The personal life of the yellow-bellied voles (Microtus ochrogaster) has interested scientists for many years.

The fact that these rodents are strictly monogamous: choose a mate for life and break the relationship with the partner only in the laboratory, when biologists activate or inactivate individual genes, interfering with their brain mechanically and subjected mice to chemicals.

Because of the strong attachment to the partner voles are considered ideal model animals for studying monogamous relationship.

This time the biologists checked on in a couple of voles is affected by the difference in the use of alcohol. Andrey Ryabinin, the employee of Oregon state University, and his colleagues continued to experiment with voles and alcohol launched in 2015; then, scientists have proved that M. ochrogaster (by the way, the only rodents voluntarily drinking alcohol-containing beverages) can sometimes prefer alcohol to your partner.

The difference in consumption is created artificially: one animal gave the drinker with alcohol and clean water, only with alcohol. After a week of the experiment, paired voles were given the opportunity to communicate with other mice.

The results of the new experiments were very different for males and females. When heavily drinking males were given the opportunity to change the partner, they did if their own partner drank less. Females also had access only to the drinker with alcohol, showed no interest in the new males. If the mice drank the same amount of alcohol per day, the couple had not split.

This behavior of rodents suggests that social behavior in relation to partners, regularly exposed to intoxication, has not only social but also biological implications. The mechanisms governing this behavior are yet to be explored.

A report on the results of the study Ryabinin presented at the annual meeting of the Neurobiological society in Washington, DC (abstracts available when you subscribe on the company website), summary report tells the magazine New Scientist.

In the behavior of voles can be found some similarities with human behavior, but to transfer the results of experiments with rodents to human completely impossible, warn the study authors.

paradox