Study finds how brain balances pleasure and pain
Jan 02, 2020
New Delhi, Jan 02 (ANI): Using a mouse model, researchers have found how the brain divides the labour to steer between seeking pleasure and avoiding pain - two opposing behaviours which guide our choices. As brains take in information about the world and use it to steer the actions, the two mentioned above are the key principles that guide the choices. The research published in the journal 'Neuron' at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has zeroed in on an information-processing hub in the brains of mice to discover how neurons there divide the labour to handle these opposing behavioural motivations. The study revealed that different classes of neurons control positive and negative motivation, sending opposing signals along a shared motivation-processing brain circuit. Li wanted to get an understanding of the brain's motivation-processing circuits because the behaviours they control are often disrupted in people with mental illness.
