Kumi Kuroda and her colleagues at the RIKEN Research Center in a new study have discovered the function of the
This can be traced to the example of chickens or cats: they attack all people and animals approaching their nest or den.
Humans and animals can inhibit some forms of instinctual behavior and act differently if they need to care for their offspring.We found that an increase in the activity of this group of neurons in the hypothalamus of mice causestake care of their offspring more actively and at the same time suppresstheir instinctive drive to avoid dangerous situations.
Kumi Kuroda, a researcher at the RIKEN Research Center (Japan), one of the authors of the study
Responsible for the work of the open area of the braina small set of neurons located within the preoptic region of the hypothalamus. This is one of the deepest regions of the brain, which, presumably, controls the sexual behavior of animals and humans, as well as their response to thirst, temperature fluctuations and some other simple stimuli.
While observing the activity of different types of neurons in the preoptic region in the brains of female mice that had recently given birth, the authors found a small group of nerve cells that actively responded to molecules of calcitonin, a hormone that controlsNext, the authors tracked how the behavior of mice would change if the work of these cells was blocked.
It turned out that such a procedure forcedrodents lose interest in protecting their offspring. This was manifested in the fact that such mice did not transfer their offspring to the nest, did not cover it with their bodies and abandoned the mice at the first signs of danger.
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