Cuddling Mongolian Gerbils

What Does Testosterone Have To Do with It

Mongolian Gerbil Study

An animal study, okay, it’s really cool, as it was run on Mongolian gerbils, by neuroscientists at Emory University, reveals what I have been saying for years.

Hormones are a family. They “function” and “dysfunction” together. This study highlights how testosterone helps boost the neural activity of oxytocin cells -- the 'love hormone' associated with social bonding.

Testosterone can directly promote nonsexual, “pro” social behavior.

Also, intimacy, such as cuddling, begets more “pro” social behavior.

Make love, not war, was a slogan shouted by many when I was in college way back when.

Turns out to be true.

These scientists have been trying to get at the question of how hormones work in the brain to allow an animal to rapidly change its behavior, depending on the social context.