Men Are Like Voles: Vasopressin and Bonding

Marital fidelity may be affected by a vasopressin polymorphism.

The neuropeptide arginine vasopressin (AVP) has elegantly been shown to assist in the regulation of social-pair bonding (sexual and social fidelity) in voles. Some researchers have suggested that the AVP 1a receptor subtype (AVPR1A) plays a similar role in human social behavior. These investigators examined whether variability in the AVPR1A gene affects pair-bonding behavior in couples who had been married or cohabiting for at least 5 years.

Three AVPR1A polymorphisms were genotyped in 522 same-sex twin pairs and their spouses or partners from the Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden. In men only, a polymorphism in the RS3-repeat allele (the 334 allele) was associated with significantly lower scores on a scale measuring partner bonding (effect…

Reviewing Author

Jonathan Silver, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNorth American Brain Injury Association (Board Member); National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (Chair of Data Monitoring Safety Board for study of donepezil on cognition after traumatic brain injury)

Jonathan Silver, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience