Brain cells found responsible for anxiety control

Ever wondered why some people seem to be more attracted to risky situations? Or how do high-risk acts appear to affect certain individuals in no way? Researchers at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), in partnership with the University of Uppsala, Sweden, have found hippocampal cells that play an essential role when we are exposed to these experiments. Basically, they regulate our anxiety levels and risk control.

Human beings, as a rule, have different behaviors in relation to risk situations. There are those who are attracted, indifferent, and afraid even when they think about something like that. On the one hand, people who prefer the feeling of being 100% safe with as few risks as possible, on the other those who date Aryans. There really is no limit to the courage of the human being.

Given these perspectives, the September 7 article published in the journal Nature Communications brought an important discovery. Hippocampal nerve cells, called OLM, produce distinct effects for each situation and can be controlled. When stimulated, the cells generate a brain rhythm similar to that of animals threatened by predators but who know their distance. That is, even in a dangerous situation, there is a certain notion of safety.

In practice, it is possible to control anxiety levels and risk behaviors by manipulating OLM cells. The gain for treating chronic anxiety sufferers is immense, as this is one of the major challenges in all approaches: equalizing the level of risk borne by those with the disorder.

Certain levels of anxiety are necessary to keep the human being alive, as they allow us to know which risks to take or not, aiming at self-preservation. However, in a large portion of society, pathological levels have increased, causing disturbances in all spheres. The treatment involves antidepressants, as a rule, and would not have so many problems if the side effects were not so heavy.

Because of this, the possibility of directly manipulating the involved area, without compromising other regions of the brain, is what most excites researchers. Treating depression and anxiety-related disorders directly is a breakthrough, and the university partnership has been paying off for some years. Research published in 2012 showed that OLM cells were memory keepers and can be controlled by pharmacological agents, as well as being very sensitive to nicotine.

Richardson Leao, a researcher at the UFRN Brain Institute, reports that this may explain why people tend to smoke when they are anxious. Interestingly, hippocampal studies are usually related to memory; Only in the last 10 years has it gained more prominence with regard to emotions.

Because of this new research, there is a new way to develop more efficient antidepressants and anxiolytics with fewer side effects. We will look forward to it!

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