Researchers have discovered that the circuit of emotions in the brain is linked to that of movement. This is why emotions can sometimes change the way we act.
Emotions can sometimes block us: a football player stressed when shooting or a student before an oral presentation in front of his class are likely to experience it. From researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studiesin San Diego, discovered that the emotion circuitry in the brain can send signals to whoever is managing the movements.
A little explored topic
Until now, the scientific community thought that movement and emotion functioned in a completely parallel way. Depression, however, raised questions: the decrease in physical activity is one of the symptoms of the disease and it is the consequence of emotional disorders. “We wanted to understand how emotion-related information reaches the movement circuitry in the brain,” says Sho Aoki, lead author of the research. In particular, the team used techniques from optogenetics, a field of science that combines optics and genetics.
The basal ganglia
Mice were used to carry out the study. By analyzing the brains of rodents, they discovered a connection between the two circuits at the level of the basal ganglia, also called the basal ganglia. At this point, the two circuits intersect, allowing emotions to influence our actions.
Therapeutic perspectives
According to the research team, these results could lead to the development of new treatment techniques. “Psychiatric illnesses like depression or anxiety can dramatically alter our actions, increasing or decreasing our movement,” says Sho Aoki. This work could also improve the management of obsessive-compulsive disorders, or help treat spinal cord injuries by stimulating positive emotions to speed healing.
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