A new study may be shedding light on the inner workings of the male brain.
According to scientists at University College London, the male brain may be hardwired to seek out sex, even at the expense of food.
Researchers made this conclusion after studying the brains of nematode worms. The worms, as The Independent explains, have two sexes: male and hermaphrodite.
The hermaphrodite worm produces its own sperm and does not need a male to reproduce. The male worm has a unique neuron, not found in the hermaphrodite worm, which overrides its desire to eat if it can instead mate.
The team came to its conclusion by conditioning both sexes of the worm using salt.
When the worm came in contact with salt, it would be starved. Over time, the worm learned to move away from the salt; however, when the salt was present at the same time as a mate, the male worm would continue to move towards its mate while the hermaphrodite worm would still move away.
The newly-discovered neurons were appropriately named MCMs, or "mystery cells of the male."
Co-author Professor Scott Emmons, from the Departments of Genetics and Neuroscience at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said,
Though the work is carried out in a small worm, it nevertheless gives us a perspective that helps us appreciate and possibly understand the variety of human sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender identification. Although we have not looked in humans, it is plausible that the male human brain has types of neurons that the female brain doesn't, and vice versa. This may change how the two sexes perceive the world and their behavioral priorities.
Clearly, even lady worms know what's up: Nothing stands between a woman and a great meal.
Citations: Male brain is programmed to seek out sex over food (The Telegraph)
