Most NoDepression readers enjoy “Cry In Your Beer” songs and science is rapidly unraveling the auditory response to music as I detailed in my post from April 1st. Recently scientists at UCSF and HHMI have discovered an explanation for why you may actually “cry in your beer”. Shohat-Ophir et al analyzed the correlation between sexual deprivation and ethanol intake and published their results in Science! And yes, I bet you can predict the results as witnessed in nearly every bar and gin mill: less sex=more alcohol. The authors discovered a neural reward system that couples courtship rejection with increased ethanol consumption. Okay, the work was done with drosophila (fruit flies for you non-science nerds) but I think it is attractive ( if unfair and possibly inaccurate) to extrapolate to humans and postulate that the next time you see someone sitting at the bar crying in their beer you’ve got two choices: buy them another beer or offer to have sex with them.
Drink up!
