Don't want to work and always want to lie down?

When you are studying or working, there may have been moments of insufficient motivation

As early as the early 19th century, the German neuroanatomist Johann Christian Reil first named a brain area called the insular cortex

In this latest study, Professor Li Bo's team marked neurons that express the Fezf2 gene in the deep layer of the mouse insular cortex (layer 5B)

▲The neurons that regulate the dynamic behavior of mice are marked in green in the picture (picture source: Li lab/CSHL, 2021)

A group of mice in the experiment were trained by the author: When they heard a specific sound stimulus, they would lick the water pipe and received a small piece of candy as a reward

So, which neural circuit mediates power through which archipelago neurons? The research team found in its downstream neural circuit that one of the specific projection brain regions is the nucleus tractus solitarius in the brainstem

▲Schematic diagram of the neural circuit from the insula Fezf2 neuron to the nucleus tractus solitarius (picture source: reference [1])

The research team also found that the regulation of this neural circuit on motivation is affected by the individual's internal state, the value of external rewards and stimuli, and the learning experience

Therefore, this study reveals the specific neural circuit mechanism of the insula involved in regulating motility

This research provides new directions and clues for the treatment of addiction, depression and other related mental diseases.

Note: The original text has been deleted

Reference materials:

[1] Hanfei Deng et al.

[2] Fine-tuning motivation in the brain.