The touch not only makes the affection but, in addition, it changes the genes. According to a study published in Nature Neuroscience , sex and physical contact between two individuals induce permanent chemical changes in chromosomes that affect the expression of genes (epigenetic changes) that regulate sexual behavior and promote monogamy .
As the neuroscientist Mohamed Kabbaj and his colleagues at Florida State University (USA) have verified in studies with field mice, the mating of these animals increases the number of receptors for oxytocin (the “love molecule”) and vasopressin , by inducing changes in the brain the area of the brain that determines the preference towards a specific partner. And after 16 to 24 hours of living together, permanent ties are created that make the couple remain together for the rest of their lives . In other words, the epigenetic changes that mating produces make us more faithful.
The most striking thing about the research is that scientists have shown that a couple can also be united “forever” by combining a drug and “only” 6 hours of living together . Specifically, in the experiment they used the drug trichostatin A, which was injected into an area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, related to rewards and pleasure. According to the authors, the experiment shows that it is possible to modify social attachment behaviors using drugs , in this case to favor or prevent pairing. And that similar substances could be used in humans to treat attachment-related disorders such as schizophrenia or autism.
