Lab Chat: How thirst activates widespread neurons in the brain
Basic biological drives, such as thirst and hunger, motivate a lot of our behavior, but scientists are still trying to understand how these instincts manifest in the brain. In a new study published in Science, researchers looked at roughly 24,000 neurons across 34 brain regions in mice, and found that contrary to previous expectations, there weren’t specific thirst-sensing neurons limited to specific regions of the brain. Here’s what study author Dr. Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University told me about the work:
What did you find — and what was surprising?
Even for simple motivational drives states, most of the brain, and most of the corresponding neurons, become involved. This appears to be important, for example, in determining what the brain does with new sensory input.
What are the next steps?
We’d like to understand how this brain-wide state is created from actions of just a few cells, why the state needs to be so widespread, and which state features are essential to which behavioral contingencies — perhaps adjudicating conflicts among competing drives.
What did you find — and what was surprising?
Even for simple motivational drives states, most of the brain, and most of the corresponding neurons, become involved. This appears to be important, for example, in determining what the brain does with new sensory input.
What are the next steps?
We’d like to understand how this brain-wide state is created from actions of just a few cells, why the state needs to be so widespread, and which state features are essential to which behavioral contingencies — perhaps adjudicating conflicts among competing drives.
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