May 3, 2024

Treating Depression by Fine-Tuning Motivation in the Brain

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Bo Li found a cluster of nerve cells in the mouse brain that affect inspiration. These cells trigger a gene called Fezf2 and are linked to and activate other neurons, which are stained green in this picture of a mouse brain. Credit: Li lab/CSHL, 2021.
Mice were trained to lick a water bottle spout to receive a small sugar reward. When researchers dialed up the activity of these Fezf2 neurons, mice would lick more vigorously. The mice would lick more slowly if the nerve cell activity was called down. The scientists saw a comparable lead to another experiment in which the mice ran on a wheel to receive a benefit. The mice ran quicker if the Fezf2 nerve cells were promoted. The exact same result occurred with other tasks.
Li and his team were shocked to find a feature that prevents the mice from ending up being addicted to the jobs and their benefits. When mice drank their fill of sugar water and were satiated, they would not lick or run faster to get more sugar, even if the researchers called up the activity of the Fezf2 neurons.
Bo Li, Professor, Ph.D., The University of British Columbia, 2003.
Finding a way to tweak the human equivalent of these neurons might assist people having problem with inspiration due to psychological health problems like depression. Li states, “We want to selectively increase the motivation of the person so that they can do the important things that they need to do, however we dont want to create addicting drugs.”.
Li and Huang published their findings in the journal Cell.
Referral: “A genetically defined insula-brainstem circuit selectively manages inspirational vigor” by Hanfei Deng, Xiong Xiao, Tao Yang, Kimberly Ritola, Adam Hantman andYulong Li, 9 December 2021, Cell.DOI: 10.1016/ j.cell.2021.11.019.

A group of neuroscientists has actually discovered brain cells that manage the motivation of mice to carry out tasks for benefits. When these cells are activated, mice work more difficult and prevent ending up being addicted to benefits. The discovery could cause new treatments for mental disorders such as anxiety that affect motivation.
Neuroscientists have actually found a set of brain cells that affect the inspiration of mice to carry out jobs for rewards. The neurons come with a function that prevents the mouse from exaggerating it and becoming addicted to the benefit.
A quality of anxiety is an absence of inspiration. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor Bo Li, in partnership with CSHL Adjunct Professor Z. Josh Huang, found a group of neurons in the mouse brain that influences the animals motivation to carry out jobs for benefits. Dialing up the activity of these nerve cells makes a mouse work quicker or more strongly– approximately a point. These nerve cells have a feature that avoids the mouse from ending up being addicted to the benefit. The findings might point to brand-new healing methods for dealing with mental disorders like depression that impact motivation in humans..
The anterior insular cortex is an area of the brain that plays an important function in inspiration. A set of nerve cells that activate a gene called Fezf2( Fezf2 nerve cells) in this location are active when mice are doing both cognitive and physical jobs. Li and his lab hypothesized that these nerve cells do not affect the mouses ability to do the job; rather, the brain cells affect the mouses motivational drive..

A group of neuroscientists has actually discovered brain cells that control the motivation of mice to carry out jobs for rewards. Neuroscientists have found a set of brain cells that affect the motivation of mice to perform jobs for rewards. The neurons come with a function that avoids the mouse from exaggerating it and becoming addicted to the benefit. These nerve cells have a feature that prevents the mouse from becoming addicted to the benefit. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Bo Li found a cluster of nerve cells in the mouse brain that influence motivation.