They came to this conclusion by demonstrating that pairing voles (mouse-like rodents) with partners or strangers caused a part of the brain to fire up and keeping the voles apart caused brain activity in that area to diminish. The team said that joining several voles together for several days consecutively caused that area of the brain to increase in activity and cell population, and the longer the animals were paired, the larger the cluster of cells in that brain region.
According to the study authors, this hardwired need to seek out close relationships may be a reason why social distancing is difficult and may lead to mental health problems if sustained for too long. The study team also noted that these findings may help to develop treatments for patients with disorders like autism and major depression.
Read more here – https://www.colorado.edu/today/2020/05/11/were-hard-wired-longing-new-study-suggests
