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You know the scene—it’s a Friday night, and your date just canceled. You’re bummed¹, maybe a little hurt. You think now might be a good time for a beer, maybe a bourbon. And you have good company: fruit flies. Turns out that sexually deprived male fruit flies hit the bottle more frequently than sexually satisfied ones.

 

Researchers placed one group of males repeatedly in a container with females who’d already mated. Those females were no longer receptive to sex. So the males learned to stop trying.

 

The scientists placed another group with virgin² females, who were receptive. Then they offered the two groups of males a choice of food. One choice was supplemented with ethanol. And the sexually frustrated³ flies dove for the drink in significantly greater numbers.

 

This behavior was also predicted by a particular neuropeptide in the flies’ brains. The sexually deprived flies had a low level of the molecule⁴. The scientists found they could moderate the flies’ alcohol-seeking behavior just by upping this molecule. The research was published in the journal Science.

 

The finding could help explain how addiction⁵ may be determined⁶ both by the brain and by social conditions—especially when those are tough to swallow.

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