Roberts S Craig, Little Anthony C
School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Genetica. 2008 Sep;134(1):31-43. doi: 10.1007/s10709-008-9254-x. Epub 2008 Mar 8.
The past decade has witnessed a rapidly growing interest in the biological basis of human mate choice. Here we review recent studies that demonstrate preferences for traits which might reveal genetic quality to prospective mates, with potential but still largely unknown influence on offspring fitness. These include studies assessing visual, olfactory and auditory preferences for potential good-gene indicator traits, such as dominance or bilateral symmetry. Individual differences in these robust preferences mainly arise through within and between individual variation in condition and reproductive status. Another set of studies have revealed preferences for traits indicating complementary genes, focussing on discrimination of dissimilarity at genes in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). As in animal studies, we are only just beginning to understand how preferences for specific traits vary and inter-relate, how consideration of good and compatible genes can lead to substantial variability in individual mate choice decisions and how preferences expressed in one sensory modality may reflect those in another. Humans may be an ideal model species in which to explore these interesting complexities.
在过去十年中，人们对人类配偶选择的生物学基础的兴趣迅速增长。在此，我们回顾近期的研究，这些研究表明人们偏好某些特质，这些特质可能会向潜在配偶揭示遗传质量，对后代健康有潜在但仍大多未知的影响。这些研究包括评估对潜在的优质基因指示性状的视觉、嗅觉和听觉偏好，如优势地位或双侧对称性。这些强烈偏好中的个体差异主要源于个体内部以及个体之间在身体状况和生殖状态方面的差异。另一组研究揭示了对指示互补基因的特质的偏好，重点在于区分主要组织相容性复合体（MHC）中基因的差异。与动物研究一样，我们才刚刚开始理解对特定特质的偏好如何变化以及相互关联，对优质和兼容基因的考量如何导致个体配偶选择决策的显著差异，以及在一种感官模式中表现出的偏好如何反映在另一种感官模式中。人类可能是探索这些有趣复杂性的理想模式物种。
