The following is an edited excerpt.
The mechanism behind prairie voles’ lifelong social monogamy is partly epigenetic, according to a paper published June 2, 2013 in Nature Neuroscience. Female prairie voles become bonded to their mates for life following the acetylation of histones in a brain region called the nucleus accumbens. The acetylation takes place near the promoter regions of genes encoding oxytocin and vasopressin receptors, molecules that have previously been associated with prairie vole pair-bonding.
Read the full story here: Epigenetics Play Cupid for Prairie Voles
