WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Some people may joke that men don't think with their heads when it comes to sex, but a study in monkeys suggests the brain plays a significant role in the decision to mate, researchers reported.
Brain scans of tiny marmoset monkeys show a lot of thought goes into choosing mates, the team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said.
They used functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, to look at the brain functions of the Brazilian monkeys. Writing in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, they said the brains became busy when the monkeys smelled sexy scents.
"We were surprised to observe high levels of neural activity in areas of the brain important for decision-making, as well as in purely sexual arousal areas, in response to olfactory cues," psychology professor Charles Snowdon said in a statement.
"Lighting up far more brightly than we expected were areas associated with decision-making and memory, emotional processing and reward, and cognitive control."
Like people, common marmosets live in family groups and do not mate freely with one another. They must make careful choices.
Snowdon's team studied four male marmosets, offering them gland secretion samples from females at or close to ovulation. They also let the monkeys smell samples from females whose ovaries had been removed, and who therefore were not fertile and, presumably, not sexy.
The researchers were surprised to see how much more of the animals' brain lit up when they smelled the samples from fertile females -- including areas of complex, cognitive reasoning.
"This is the first time anyone has imaged an awake nonhuman primate in response to emotionally arousing stimuli. It is also the first link between external sexual odors and the internal sexual arousal system," Snowdon said. "This opens up a whole new field of research possibilities."
He said the marmoset data corresponded surprisingly closely to human fMRI studies.
Those monkeys were born heterosexual - every fiber in their being got excited around fertile females. Oh, ya'll could say that a person could be born with 100% OPPOSITE instincts ... but why, how and to what purpose ? Sex is for reproduction, a males DNA drives him at a basic level to be attracted to females. I submit we're ALL born like these monkeys - males from day 1 having a genetic response to females and vice versa. As Gobbler has pointed out, theres been some scientific viewing of primates and homosexuality - I'd love to see them study the brain patterns of those "gay" moneys when put in a cage with an ovulating female ! I'd be money his brain patterns go off the wall - heterosexual basic genetic instinct.
I was one of the guys arguing with you a while back, but I want to reiterate my take on the matter. I'm willing to listen to research and accept the possibilities. This article above in interesting, though the researchers did not tie it to homosexuality. It could go there however. These monkeys had natural heterosexual tendencies. I do not know, however if the same monkeys are capable of acquiring mental ilness. If homosexuality is analagous to mental illness, or infact a mental ilness, then it is not a choice.
Along these lines, you may wish to research the bonobo chimps. They have been known to engage in male on male sex.
I do not claim to have any answers on the matter. I still think that no proven answer exists.
I submit that I don't care if someone is born that way or turns that way, just keep your filth away from me.
I agree. I guess the only thing that really keeps me going on this thing is someones stubborn insistance that their opinion is fact, when no one really knows. Try an open mind!
I did some reading on stumptail and macaques monkeys ... and found that the males occassionally mounted each other but very rarely had sexualk "satisfaction" - its was more of a dominance jesture than anything. The femals often chose other females (males rarley chose males) but the females always chose males too - indicating bisexualism. In other words, more indication of CHOICE, then genetics, the choice to choose a female or male partner at any given time.
The bonobo moneys ... too much gay porn comes up for me to search too much on those monkey !!
1) Animals act upon instinct. they do not have the power of logic or reason.
2) If turd burglars want to rationalize their sexual "proclivities" using the animal kingdom, then I must remind you that we KILL millions upon millions upon millions of animals every year.
Therefore, if i was to make a categorical syllogism out of the two above statements, the conclusion would be that we can freely kill *****s.
monkeys born heterosexual ? gays and choice ?
