They identify a neural activity associated with impulsivity

Impulsivity is a normal personality trait and it is also common for it to be accentuated during adolescence, but high levels of this way of acting are related to a predisposition to develop addictions and, in some cases, it can be a manifestation of neuropsychiatric problems. Knowing how multiple environmental and biological factors combine to give rise to this behavior could be useful in improving treatment.

In this context, specialists from the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) of Argentina have managed to detect neural activity associated with impulsivity in an experimental model. The work has been published in the academic journal eLife and due to its relevance María Cecilia Martínez, one of the members of the team, has won the prestigious Ben Barres Award, granted by a non-profit organization associated with that publication and which was founded in 2011 by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute of the United States, the Max Planck Society of Germany, and the Wellcome Trust of the United Kingdom.

“Our work shows that the neurons of the striatum, a region of the brain, encode information related to the level of impulsivity,” says Martínez, first author of the work and CONICET researcher at the Bernardo Houssay Institute of Physiology and Biophysics (IFIBIO-Houssay, dependent of CONICET and the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). And he continues: “Many more studies are required to propose therapeutic possibilities in conditions where impulsivity may have become a health problem, but knowing the neural circuits involved in normal impulsivity It’s a significant advance.”

Control of impulsivity

In animals (rats), the IFIBIO-Houssay specialists studied the neuronal activity of the striatum, a brain structure that is involved in motor control, the development of habits and the prediction of rewards and that is also associated with the estimation of time. In humans, functional alterations of this brain region are seen in many neuropsychiatric conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Tourette’s syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

In this study, the researchers recorded the activity of neurons in the striatum of adult and adolescent rats while learning a task. To obtain a reward, the animals had to wait a few seconds (avoid impulsiveness) before entering a place or “port” and performing a sequence of tasks or movements. Teenagers were more impulsive than adults.

“A key finding from our study is that striatal activity during waiting grows more rapidly in adolescents than in adults. Our interpretation is that adolescents have a greater expectation of receiving the reward after a shorter waiting time, and that this is related to their impulsiveness”, indicates Mariano Belluscio, director of the work and Conicet researcher at IFIBIO-Houssay, to Argentina Investiga. .

“Another important fact is that impulsivity seems to be heterogeneous. Each type of impulsivity could be mediated by different neural circuits and therefore its treatment should be different. In this context, the task that we studied measures impulsivity in carrying out a highly automated sequence of actions, and this type of impulsivity could be particularly relevant as a vulnerability factor for addictions”, highlights Gustavo Murer, also director of the study and Conicet researcher at IFIBIO-Houssay. And he continues: “Additional studies will allow us to further characterize the neural circuits and neurotransmitters involved in the regulation of impulsivity.”

Research team members. (Photo: Argentina Investiga / Arturo Jauretche National University)

“I am very happy to have received the Ben Barres Award. It is an honor, above all because of the ideas and legacy of Ben Barres, who made outstanding advances in the field of neurosciences and fought for the rights of women, the LGBTIQ+ community, and minorities,” says Martínez. And she adds: “In addition, the distinction supposes necessary resources to promote our line of research.”

Camila Zold, CONICET researcher, and Marcos Coletti, CONICET doctoral fellow, both from IFIBIO-Houssay, also participated in the study. (Source: Argentina Investiga / Arturo Jauretche National University)