Mystery Neurones Found in Male Worms
Share:
It sometimes seems as though the only thing a man wants is sex, but recent studies have now shown that may actually be true. In a study of Nematode worms, the journal ‘Nature’ found a neurone that only appears in the male species. This showed that the male worm seems to prioritise mating over eating – something that I’m sure many females can relate to! Particularly the Nematode worms amongst us…
In determining the job of these new-found mystery neurons, scientists conducted an experiment using salt. First, they associated it with starvation, conditioning them to dislike it. Then, they added mates to the same area. In order to mate, the worms dismiss their conditioning to dislike salt and enter the arena despite it. When scientists removed these neurones, the males no longer chose mates over enduring the salty arena. Thus, this suggests that this cell programmes them into choosing sex over food.
In the future, scientists plan on conducting more research into these mystery neurones, in order to see how they govern learning and feed sex differences into the brain.