Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Health → Anatomy News

Risky brain, safe brain: MIT charts neural pathways involved in decision-making

Researchers at MIT have now identified a neural circuit that they believe underpins decision-making in situations such as this, and have started looking into mice's brains to better understand the biological processes that make us tick and help us pick.

Alexandru Micu by Alexandru Micu
May 28, 2015
in Anatomy News, Mind & Brain, Science

MIT-Emotional-Decision-1_0
This image illustrates nerve fibers that originate in a part of the prefrontal cortex associated with emotion. The green shows the termination of fibers from a part of the prefrontal cortex in the striatum; the red depicts striosomes; and the yellow shows their overlap. The researchers found that the striatum — particularly the striosomes — may act as a gatekeeper that processes sensory and emotional information from the cortex to produce a decision on how to react.
Image via newsoffice.mit.edu/

Every decision we take is influenced to some extent by emotion, and choices that offer both negative and positive elements – such as picking a higher paying but hazardous job or a safer but less profitable one – evoke them the most, particularly anxiety.

Researchers at MIT have now identified a neural circuit that they believe underpins decision-making in situations such as this, and have started looking into mice’s brains to better understand the biological processes that make us tick and help us pick.

They studied mice in five different types of behavioral experiments, including an approach-avoidance scenario: they had to choose between strong chocolate, which they like, and bright light, which they dislike, or dimmer light but weaker chocolate.

Mouse
And what do chocolate mice like?..

 

By comparing results from all five experiments they reached the conclusion that the cost-benefit decision making process is unique. The findings could help researchers discover new ways to treat psychiatric disorders that feature impaired decision-making, such as depression, schizophrenia, and borderline personality disorder. “This type of task is potentially very relevant to anxiety disorders,” says research scientist Leif Gibb . “If we could learn more about this circuitry, maybe we could help people with those disorders.”

[RELATED] Free choice and monkeys: researchers record the moment a mind is changed

 “In order to create a treatment for these types of disorders, we need to understand how the decision-making process is working,” says Alexander Friedman, research scientist at MIT-run McGovern Institute for Brain Research and lead author of the paper describing the findings in the May 28 issue of Cell.

Using optogenetics to play around with this neural pathway, they were able to alter the rodent’s choices in such situations, making them up to 20% more likely to engage in riskier behavior for higher pay-offs when cortical into the striosomes was shut off. When the cells were stimulated, they choose the safer choice despite the lesser reward more often. The data suggests that the striosomes act as “gatekeepes”, absorbing information from the cortex and producing a decision on how to react.

Striatum (in red). The C-shaped portion of the structure is the caudate and the more globular portion is the putamen.
Image via: www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com

Another part of the midbrain involved with this neural circuit called the substantia nigra houses cells rich in the neurotransmiter dopamine, a neurotransmitter that play an important role in motivation and movement. The researchers believe that they are activated by the striosomes to enocourage long-term effects on the animal or human patient’s decision-making habits.

 “We would so like to find a way to use these findings to relieve anxiety disorder, and other disorders in which mood and emotion are affected. That kind of work has a real priority to it”,  Graybiel says.

In addition to pursuing possible treatments for anxiety disorders, the researchers are now trying to better understand the role of the dopamine-containing substantia nigra cells in this circuit, which plays a critical role in Parkinson’s disease and may also be involved in related disorders.

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. Your brain on gambling: neural connection strength predicts risky behaviour
  2. Learning and exploration might drive teenagers’ risky, bad decisions, not poor impulse control
  3. Always Gamble on an Empty Stomach: Hunger Is Associated with Advantageous Decision Making
  4. Decision-making could be unconscious
  5. Find a mate or stay safe? A tricky decision for male deer
Tags: braindecisionsstriosomes

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW