In a recent study of prairie voles, researchers found that oxytocin long thought to play a vital role in social attachment is not necessary for this behavior and saw that the rodents still exhibited social monogamy, even without oxytocin receptors.
The "love hormone" oxytocin may not play as critical a role in bonding as previously believed. Removing the oxytocin receptor in animal models still resulted in monogamous mating, attachment, and parental bonding behaviors, although females without the receptor produced milk in smaller quantities. Findings reveal parenting and bonding aren't purely dictated by oxytocin receptors.
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