Scientists Discover Brain Circuit That Acts Like a ‘Brake’ on Motivation

Researchers studying macaque monkeys identified a brain circuit between the ventral striatum and ventral pallidum that acts as a "motivation brake" when facing unpleasant tasks. When scientists suppressed this circuit using chemogenetics, the monkeys became less hesitant to perform tasks they knew would result in uncomfortable air puffs to their faces, suggesting this pathway controls our reluctance to tackle disagreeable activities and could potentially inform future treatments for depression and other motivation-related psychiatric conditions.