This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Female mice like warmer spaces than males because of two types of tiny temperature sensors in their nerves which are tuned to switch on at higher temperatures, according to researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London. The study, led by researchers at the Wolfson Sensory, Pain and Regeneration Centre at IoPPN and published in The Journal of Physiology, explains at a molecular level a sex difference seen in every mammal studied so far, and even in birds.
An animal's preferred external temperature can vary between individuals, but there are general trends. Female mice will choose a floor temperature of 36°C (97 degrees Fahrenheit), compared to the male preference of 32°C (90 degrees Fahrenheit). These trends are also seen in humans.
On average, women prefer a room at around 25°C (77 degrees Fahrenheit) and men around 22°C (72 degrees Fahrenheit). The new study points to two ion channels behind it—tiny pores in nerve cells that open as the temperature changes, letting charged particles flood in and ultimately fire a signal to the brain. TRPM2 picks up gentle warmth; TRPM8 picks up coolness.
In female mice, both types of channel activate at warmer temperatures than in males. So, a floor that feels pleasantly warm to a female feels unpleasant to a male. While the study was done in mice, humans also have both types of ion channel.
Peter McNaughton, professor of pharmacology at the Wolfson Sensory, Pain and Regeneration Centre at IoPPN, said, "It has long been known that in many mammals, including humans, females prefer a warmer environment than males, but the molecular basis for this difference had not been identified until now. In mice, we found that the thermal ranges of activation of the two ion channels that detect warmth and coolness, TRPM2 and TRPM8, are shifted toward warmer temperatures in females, and it is this shift that causes the difference in how males and females sense and react to temperature. "This study did not look at humans, but humans have both of these types of ion channels, and similar differences in average temperature preference, so it is likely that a similar mechanism is at work." The researchers placed mice on two side-by-side heated metal plates that could be gently warmed.
One was kept at 33°C (91 degrees Fahrenheit) and the other was varied, and the team watched which one the mice chose to stand on. Males avoided a plate heated to 38°C (100 degrees Fahrenheit), while females strongly preferred it. Genetically removing the warmth sensor shifted males toward preferring warmer temperatures.
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