Colder weather makes single people look for serious relationship With the days becoming shorter and winter approaching, there can be no better time of year than to snuggle up next to the one you love and watch a good movie or order takeout. If you're single, it's not just wishful thinking but scientific fact that the winter months see traditionally promiscuous singles begin to look for serious relationships and settle down Scientists say that colder weather can affect our brains and therefore influence the way people date. Science of attraction: The weather changes the way we think about each other Neurobiologists at Florida State University have identified some of the factors that may be responsible. The boffins at FSU studied how prairie voles in love behave. Apart from being ridiculously cute, the voles have a tendency to form enduring monogamous relationships. In previous studies, researchers found that prairie voles preference for forming lasting pair-bonds was a result of a neurotransmitter love potion cocktail in the brain involving: oxytocin, vasopressin, and dopamine. Nature at work: Scientists looked at the behavior of voles who are traditionally monogamous... but alter their DNA and they start sleeping around! Don't know much about science book: But I do know that I love you.. and it's all because of the shape of your DNA that alters What they found was the way in which females chose their partners was influenced by the amount of oxytocin in an area of the brain associated with reward and pleasure. The scientists discovered that if certain modifications were made to the DNA, it would change the way female prairie voles behaved and their preference for a mate. It was revealed to the researchers that prairie voles only cared about whether or not they spent time with the love of their life or a complete stranger when certain receptors designed to produce attraction in their brains were not inhibited. It was also found that the weather affected the way in which the voles brains processed the signals of attraction. Scientists believe similar reactions are seen in humans, however they also suggest that rather than analyse the chemical reactions of attraction, some confidence and a smile is a surefooted way of meeting the one you're meant to be with.