Serotonin sex bomb: How to make a mouse bisexual or just really horny

Are these mice about to get their serotonin-free love on?

/ istockphoto

(CBS) Scientists aren't sure whether they have figured out how to make mice bisexual or just so horny that they will mount whatever happens to saunter in their cage, but a fascinating study out of China sheds new light on the role of serotonin in sexual behavior.

Serotonin is a brain chemical long known to affect sex drive in humans. People who take anti-depressants like Prozac and Zoloft, drugs which increases serotonin in the brain, often have lower libidos.

For mice, the problem is particularly acute - give them too much serotonin and they have trouble gaining erections and ejaculating. But take it away and it's game on.

Researchers at Beijing's National Institute of Biological Sciences did just that. Working with male mice that lack a gene which makes serotonin, they introduced mice of both genders into their cages and sat down to watch the sex show.

Turns out the serotonin-deprived mice were quite the performers, mounting both male and female partners about 80 percent of the time. By comparison, normal male mice got funky with females between 60 and 80 percent of the time and didn't have much taste for their more macho counterparts - mounting them only 20 to 30 percent of the time.

Other signs backed up their mounting experiment. Serotonin-deprived mice sniffed the love scent of males and females equally and sang beautiful mating songs to both.

So, did scientists figure out how to make the mice bisexual or just really horny? That part isn't really clear. It's also not clear that any of this can be extrapolated to humans. For starters, mice already act far more bisexual  than most hetero-oriented humans and scientists caution that between mice and men, we are built very differently. Also, there is no evidence that gay men who take anti-depressants (remember they increase serotonin) act or feel any less homosexual.

However it shakes out, we can be sure of one thing. The mice had a pretty good time.

The research was published in the journal Nature.

[templebody]

Funny. Those scientists are getting bored.
http://whatisserotonin.org

[gruven13777]

More unoriginal BS propaganda from the gay agenda / left-wing media.

[JeremyBing]

So if trying to learn and understand things is that the gay agenda / left wing media then is the anti-gay agenda / right wing media's agenda to keep people ignorant and prejudice?

[gruven13777]

Dude...trying to compare the behavior of mice to humans...is STUPID.

[thesevenveils]

This study might suggest where China's penchant for androgynous clothing styles comes from. A window into the secret side of the leaders of Communist China perhaps?

[Nmmrng]

Kinda gives a whole new angle to the "give a mouse a cookie" thing.

[vancestevens]

I find the last part simplistic and presumptive. I think hetero males can be just as ***** as gay ones. Further, I think the article is running roughshod over the scientific results it describes. The article is clear to the end that it's difficult to distinguish between horniness and bisexuality then veers off course at the end. Boo.

[getpicright]

Those are adorable rats. Good editing.

[Fluufykins]

Actually, only SOME of the mice had a good time. Somebody had to be the male mouse that got mounted and was all "this was NOT in the brochure, bro!" (but in Chinese mouse speak, naturally.) LOL

[amerilatino]

Forget mice, how can I put gum on the mojo button of women???