Exercise more. This is usually my (and many other people’s) biggest New Year’s resolutions.
But there’s a bone-chilling wind raging outside. And I’m wrapped up in a fluffy blanket on the couch with hot cocoa and his latest Netflix show in hand. My resolve plummets.
according to new research of NatureI was able to get a motivational boost from an amazing source: my gut microbes. found that it can motivate you to exercise away from the couch.
Alone, the results sound like pseudoscientific nonsense. But this research went deep. Researchers have discovered how and why gut microbes encourage mice to run and keep running. At its core, it’s a chemical produced by the microbiome that sends signals from the gut to the brain, causing a deluge of dopamine that is released into the brain’s “motivation center,” the ventral striatum, and stimulates the desire to exercise. Stimulate.
I’ve often said this: mice aren’t men. But this research pushes the relatively new field of gut-brain interaction into new territory.Can the Gut Directly Influence the Motivation and Desires of the Brain? By Locating the Molecules in the Gut that Stimulate the Brain I want For being physically active, research has given us the first answer: yes.
“If these findings are relevant to humans, we may wonder whether targeting gut bacteria can improve the mental processes associated with exercise decisions across individuals, whether they are elite athletes or not.” A question arises. Said Neuroscientist Ph.D. His Gulistan Agirman and Elaine Y. Hsiao of the University of California, Los Angeles were not involved in the study.
exercise dilemma
We all know that working out is good for you. Thousands of studies have shown that regular exercise can help with everything from managing weight to reducing the risk of heart disease, improving mental health and mood, and even fighting aging and dementia. .
So why, even if you know the benefits, So Is it hard to get motivated?
Agilman and Xiao explained that initially, mindset, or psychology, was thought to be the main culprit. However, new research suggests that the gut microbiome may significantly increase motivation.
The gut-brain connection is one of the most influential discoveries of the last decade. The brain does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, molecules and hormones in the body can have a profound effect on its function. For example, chemicals released by the liver enhance memory function in aging mice after exercise and generate more new neurons in the hippocampal ‘seedling’, the dentate gyrus. important for memory.
A major source of these systemic molecules is the gut microbiota. Their commensal microbes thrive in our gut, helping us digest nutrients and support our metabolism. did. For example, eradicating bacteria with antibiotics increases depressive symptoms in mice. Subsequent research found that certain microbes excrete chemicals and activate the vagus nerve as they digest food.
It also helps the body respond to exercise. Agilman and Xiao said that specific bacterial groups in the gut have emerged “as key regulators of exercise performance”. New research suggests that the gut microbiome can directly shape our desire to exercise by affecting brain function. Is not it?
Honing in
Rats generally love to run. But just like humans, depending on your genetics and physiology, some people like to run fast, some like to run long, and some don’t run at all.
To understand why, the team started with about 200 mice specially bred to promote diverse genetic backgrounds and collected their body data. These include gene sequencing, metabolic profiling, and sequencing RNA in feces. This is an established method for measuring gut microbiota profiles.
Overall, the team collected over 10,500 data points for each mouse, for a total of approximately 2 million points.
Mice then ran on a treadmill or running wheel. The latter is a treat (anyone who has a hamster or other rodent pet will know), hops on happily, and runs considerable distances (over 9 miles a day) every night.
But there were also couch potatoes. These fluffs were able to relax with barely touching the wheels during our two-day test period.
Surprisingly, the genetic signature of mice had little effect on their motivation to run. Broadening the hunt, the team utilized machine learning to analyze molecules in blood, metabolism and gut microbiota to see if individual differences matched his performance on the run.
The answer frowned. The only predictor of mice’s willingness to run was their gut bacteria. Agilman and Shao suggest that “intestinal bacteria promote exercise performance”.
But correlation is not causation. In the next test, the team used antibiotics to wipe out the microbiome in one group of his exercise mice, turning them into couch potatoes. In contrast, mice raised in sterile foam (originally deficient in gut bacteria) transformed themselves into marathon runners when transplanted with their naturally energetic companion gut bacteria.
clever link
Why is gut microbiota related to motivation?
The answer seems to be dopamine. Often called the “pleasure chemical,” dopamine plays a variety of roles in the brain, from flagging errors that don’t match expectations to directing smooth movements. But its best-known role is to couple movement and reward, which occur in a deep-brain nugget called the ventral striatum, part of the brain’s ‘reward center’.
After digging into mouse microbiome data, the research team found that sport mice have a population of gut bacteria that are particularly good at secreting fatty acid amides (FAAs). These chemicals then acted as ‘keys’, activating the receptor ‘lock’. It’s the CB1 receptors that dot the outside of certain types of sensory neurons in your gut (yes, your gut has neurons, and yes, CB1 receptors are targets for the main chemical constituents of marijuana). These specialized neurons send electrical signals through the spinal cord directly to the brain’s striatum, pumping dopamine in.
In contrast, mice without gut bacteria lacked this dopamine spike. A little more research showed that their brains had high levels of an enzyme that rapidly digests dopamine, essentially eliminating their “runner’s high.” However, administering FAA as a dietary supplement or transferring FAA-producing gut bacteria into the gut improved the running game.
The authors “demonstrated that gut microbes regulate the circuitry involved in the motivation needed to sustain physical activity in mice,” say Agilman and Xiao.
new year’s resolution
For clarity, these results are in mice. I don’t know if they hold up in humans. But they provide new clues to lingering questions, such as why a runner’s high feels good even when you’re in physical pain. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s packed with an elixir, but buyer beware!
Zooming out, this study adds to the pantheon of evidence that our microbiome directly influences brain function, especially mood and motivation. does not control
“Although it is tempting to consider the human impact of this study, extensive further evaluation will be needed to gauge the practical relevance of these findings,” say Agilman and Hsiao. “Various other factors influence people’s motivational state, so different strategies are needed to strengthen motivation and reward circuits in adverse environments.”
Image credit: wakanda pix from Pixabay
