Marriage wrecking is in the brain
IT’S A perfect excuse for men who tend to fall for married women – their brains are wired differently.
The part of their grey matter involved in value judgments, decision-making and risktaking was more active in “mate-poachers”, a study found.
Most men distance themselves when they realise the object of their affections is attached – to avoid jealous husbands or being shunned.
But some carry on regardless. Scientists from Kyoto University, Japan, showed 40 men pictures of 150 women and asked which they would most like to have a relationship with.
Crucially, they were told some were attached and others single. While 70 percent found the single ones more attractive, the remaining 30 percent were drawn to women who were spoken for. Brain scans of the “mate-poachers” revealed that their medial orbitofrontal cortex was extra-active.
Their own relationship status did not affect whether they had a wandering eye. And as the cortex is also associated with risk-taking, the findings suggest the “poachers” find the idea of an affair with someone’s wife more thrilling than terrifying.
Writing in the journal Social Neuroscience, study author Ryuhei Ueda said: “The findings represent an important step towards a neural explanation of socially unacceptable behaviour in love.” – Daily Mail