[ad_1]
Recognized for its role in relieving depression, neurochemical serotonin could also help the brain to adopt appropriate and instantaneous behaviors in emergencies, according to a new Cornell study published Feb. 1 Science.
The researchers studied patterns of brain activity in mice. If a mouse is facing a threat, serotonin neurons in the dorsal raphe will trigger during movement. But, when there was a calm and positive environment, these serotonin neurons triggered during active behavior pauses.
"This change really surprised us," said Melissa Warden, lead author and badistant professor, and Fellow Miriam M. Salpeter of the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior. "It was our first hint that something really strange could happen in the brain in emergency situations."
In combat or flight emergency situations, behavioral choices differ from those that an animal might take in less critical situations. For example, if a mouse is sitting in the middle of an exposed field and a hawk looking for food, she can see the hawk begin to infiltrate and his survival instinct tells him to run. The evacuation response is appropriate, Warden said.
"But if the hawk flies over and that he has not seen the mouse, but the mouse has seen the hawk, it should agree that the mouse freezes on the spot to avoid being detected", she said. "In this situation, freezing on the spot is a better decision than trying to run away because the chances of survival are higher."
In high-risk situations, stimulation of serotonin neurons elicits attempts at escape. In less dangerous environments, the stimulation of these neurons causes a pause.
Thus, stimulation of serotonin neurons probably favors the context-adapted response. "This can cause animals to react to their environment, to do what is appropriate in light of the current situation," Warden said.
As a global command center, serotonin sends signals throughout the brain, she said. Understanding how this system leads to different behaviors in different environments can lead to a better understanding of the role of other systems in the brain.
Warden said, "Given the widespread distribution of serotonin neurons in the brain, this discovery raises the possibility that the" emergency brain "works in a fundamentally different way."
The coauthors authors, Changwoo Seo and Akash Guru, are both PhD candidates in the field of neurobiology and behavior. In addition to Warden, Seo and Guru, the research entitled "An Intense Threat Flips Dorsal Raphe Serotonin Neurons into a Paradoxical Mode of Operation" was co-authored by Postdoctoral Researcher Brianna J. Sleezer; PhD candidate Yi-Yun Ho, M.Eng & # 39; 13; Brendan Ito, graduate student; Christina Boada & # 39; 15, Michelle Jin & # 17; Nicholas A. Krupa & # 18; Durga Kullakanda & # 19; and Cynthia X. Shen & # 20; and Elias Wang & # 39; 16, doctoral candidate at Stanford.
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health's New Design Award from the Director, the New York Stem Cell Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Whitehall Foundation, the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, the Foundation of the Mong family and Cornell. Warden is a neuroscience researcher at the New York Stem Cell Foundation.
Source of the story:
Material provided by Cornell University. Original written by Blaine Friedlander. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.
Source link
