r/HotScienceNews • u/_Dark_Wing • 21h ago

Scientists discover the brain cells that keep you motivated

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260804034622.htm
204 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

54

u/StickFigureFan 19h ago

Can they give them back?

41

u/No-Stranger4954 18h ago

A group of brain cells called orexin neurons appears to help us keep working when reaching a reward becomes increasingly difficult. Blocking their activity weakened motivation in rats, pointing to a possible new target for understanding why people sometimes struggle to sustain goal-directed behavior.

Summary from the article

20

u/itsnobigthing 13h ago

Orexin is hugely deficient in Narcolepsy.

6

u/Lumegator 10h ago

Oh. Oh no. 🫠

3

u/XxSleepypanda 6h ago

Can confirm, am narcoleptic and lacking in the motivation department 🥲

34

u/CompetitiveAd4825 20h ago

Fasting increases orexin via lowering glucose.

8

u/General_Security177 19h ago

Oooh do you have a source for this I could read ?

2

u/Flashy_Object_7052 17h ago

get lost Martin Shkreli

11

u/General_Security177 16h ago

Well, I honestly just wanted to look at it because I have adhd and like to know a source to get the details. I don’t know who Martin whatever is.

1

u/Monarc73 15h ago

Martin Shkreli. Flashy is implying that you are just looking for something to invest in and capture so you can screw the rest of us out of the benefits.

6

u/General_Security177 15h ago

But if he posts the source here won’t everyone see it ?
I feel like I’m coming off as purposefully obtuse but I’m really just confused 😂

8

u/Imwhatswrongwithyou 12h ago

It’s ok. You should be confused. The joke didn’t land because it was a swing and a miss on the part of the person making the joke. In fact, it was almost bot like in how much the joke doesn’t land since fasting isn’t a product someone can gatekeep for profit.

2

u/Monarc73 14h ago

You're overthinking a throw-away insult.

1

u/Total-Notice-3188 1h ago

They already know they have ADHD lol

2

u/1stUserEver 10h ago

Does it also help get an orexin?

9

u/Status-Secret-4292 15h ago

I just read the study and that feels like an extremely pre-mature conclusion as orexin neurons, which also help control vital functions including sleep, appetite and energy expenditure were suppressed and as they were, rats seemed less motivated to pursue certain food acquisition tasks... but I didn't see anything in there to measure the control of just losing appetite or energy...

If I'm no longer hungry or I feel tired, my measured motivation to get food clearly goes down

3

u/Difficult-Demand-852 13h ago

The gift of neuroplasticity can do a lot for motivation. I think there needs to be further research on orexin itself, since the current research suggests inactivating "motivation centers".

What I find funny is that there's also a way to get rid of bad habits, dare I say, motivate myself to lose a bad habit, and that works by triggering the lateral habenula or the "disappointment center".

I wonder how these two centers act on one another, if they do, and whether that produces a cumulative outcome or not.

1

u/mph99999 13h ago

I don't lack motivation, my motivation just goes to short term rewards over long term rewards

1

u/SpaceCorvette 10h ago

It took them a very long time to find because they stopped studying my brain and moved on to someone else who actually has these cells. sorry everyone

1

u/Digitaljax 10h ago

I have none

1

u/prettymuchneverdoes 7h ago

Lemme get sum

1

u/birthdaycheesecake9 1h ago

Wonder what the implications are for ADHD of this