Food not the way to a man's heart - study

What is the food of love? It's no use asking a bloke. Photo / iStock

It is said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but a study has shown that when it comes to sex, food is the last thing on his mind.

Researchers have found that the male brain will seek out sex, even at the expense of a good meal, as specific neurons fire up to over-ride the desire to eat.

But women do not have the same neurons, suggesting that for them food comes first and offering proof that male and female brains are wired differently.

Although the neurons have been found only in the brains of nematode worms, scientists at University College London said it was likely similar mechanisms were at work in humans.

Study co-author Professor Scott Emmons, from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said it "helps us appreciate and possibly understand the variety of human sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identification".

He added: "Although we have not looked in humans, it is plausible that the male human brain has types of neurons that the female brain doesn't, and vice versa."

This could influence the way the two sexes saw the world and their behavioural priorities.

The neurons have been dubbed MCMs or "mystery cells of the male".

The worm species used in the study, Caenorhabditis elegans, has two sexes: males and hermaphrodites -- essentially modified females.

Scientists conditioned the worms so that when salt was present they realised that they would be starved. Over time, the worms moved away from the salt. But when salt was present at the same time as a mate, the male worm still moved towards the mate. Hermaphrodites moved away from the salt even when a mate was present.