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Unexpected brain chemistry is behind the element of surprise

July 30, 2022 by admin

You reach over a stove to pick up a pot. What you didn’t know was that the burner was still on. Ouch! That painful accident probably taught you a lesson. It is adaptive to learn from unexpected events so that we don’t repeat our mistakes. Our brains may be ready to pay extra attention when we are surprised. in a recent Nature In this study, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found evidence that a hormone, norepinephrine, alters brain activity — and subsequent behavior of an animal — in these surprising moments.

Norepinephrine is one of many chemicals that can flood the brain with powerful signals. Previous research shows that noradrenaline plays a role when we feel excited, anxious or alert and that it contributes to learning. But the new research shows it plays a strong role in responses to the unexpected.

The MIT team used a method called optogenetics to study norepinephrine in mice. The scientists added special light-sensitive proteins to neurons that act as an “off switch” for the cells when hit by pulses of laser light. They focused on modifying a brain region called the locus coeruleus, which contains cells responsible for releasing norepinephrine. Under certain circumstances, the researchers were able to use lasers to prevent these cells from producing the hormone. They combined this method with photo tagging, a technique in which proteins flash with light, which allowed the scientists to observe activity in the locus coeruleus cells and then determine how much norepinephrine was being produced.

Next, the researchers designed a trial-and-error learning task for the rodents. The mice could push levers when they heard a sound. There were two sounds. After high-frequency tones of about 12 kilohertz, mice that pushed a lever were rewarded with water they could drink. For low-frequency tones, around four kilohertz, the mice that hit the lever got a slightly unpleasant surprise: an uncomfortable blast of air was blown at them. Over time, mice learned to press the lever only when they heard high-frequency tones, because they were given water when they did. They avoided the lever when they heard low tones.

When the researchers examined what happened at the locus coeruleus during these events, they saw that norepinephrine production peaked at two different times: before mice pressed the lever and when the rodents were given water or a scent.

The researchers suspect that the first burst of norepinephrine indicates that it plays a role in an animal’s decision to pursue rewards. One of their experiments supports that conjecture. When the scientists lowered the volume of the tones, making it more difficult to distinguish the high-frequency, water-producing tones from the low-frequency, air-blowing tones, the mice appeared confused. Some were reluctant to push the lever, but some did anyway. Then the researchers used their optogenetic off switch to block the release of norepinephrine, and this made the mice even more hesitant. The release of norepinephrine seemed to increase the likelihood that mice would take risks if they weren’t so sure of the results. In addition, the researchers tracked the norepinephrine released before mice hit the lever and found that it traveled to the brain’s motor cortex, an area involved in transmitting nerve impulses that stimulate muscle movement. In other words, the increase in brain chemistry helped prompt the mice to press the lever.

As for the second spike in norepinephrine, the researchers found that the chemical was released when mice were given a puff of air or water — and this brain response was strongest when the outcome was a surprise. For example, after mice learned to associate higher tones with getting water, the researchers decided to shake things up a bit by sometimes releasing the airflow instead. Not only did these changes alter mouse behavior — the unexpected blast of air made the mice more wary of pushing the lever on the next trial, for example — the scientists found that the locus coeruleus released more norepinephrine when the animals got these unexpected results. The researchers also found that blocking norepinephrine release made mice less accurate at controlling when to press a lever for a water reward. That finding makes clear that norepinephrine is particularly useful in helping us learn from the unexpected.

In future work, researchers may investigate whether similar processes exist in humans. Scientists can also study how norepinephrine works with other chemical messengers, such as dopamine, that play a role in our response to rewards. What the new research makes clear is that there may be a much more complex neurochemical story behind “the element of surprise” than anyone ever expected.

Are you a scientist specializing in neuroscience, cognitive science or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed article you’d like to write about for Mind Matters? Send suggestions to Scientific American Mind Matters Editor Daisy Yuhas at pitchmindmatters@gmail.com

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