Scientists just discovered the brain chemical that breaks bad habits
Breaking bad habits isn't exactly easy, and thanks to new scientific research, we're learning more than ever before. It's going to take a lot more than determination to break your bad habits, as scientists found a brain chemical involved.
Your brain can adapt when circumstances change
"How does the brain know when it is time to abandon an old strategy and try something new?" That is the question that a research study at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University set out to answer.
The results, published in Nature Communications, have given people a new look at how a brain signal breaks established and entrenched habits.
The study also peeled back the layers on how conditions like Parkinson's and OCD can worsen bad habits.
Your brain sends messages that control memory and critical brain processes
The human brain is incredibly complex, which is why we're still trying to learn about it. This study showed that your brain sends messages responsible for functions like memory and other critical brain processes.
Researchers trained 25 mice to navigate a virtual maze. Each route gave the mice a different reward. Over time, the mice created habits and knew which route to take.
Once the mice learned the route and formed a habit, the researchers changed the reward locations. By tracking their brain activity in real time, the team noticed a sudden spike in a specific chemical message every time a mouse realized a path was empty and pivoted to try a new route.
The brain adapted to circumstances
Once the maze was changed, two-photon microscopy was used to study the mice's brains.
Gideon Sarpong, one of the study's authors, explained that they saw a major boost of a chemical called acetylcholine in parts of the brain.
Acetylcholine is a vital, widespread chemical messenger in our bodies. It acts like a delivery person, carrying the vital signals that tell our muscles to move and help our brains remember things.
“Behaviorally, we saw more mice displaying what’s known as ‘lose-shift’ behavior, changing their choices in the maze after non-reward,” Sarpong told Science Daily. “The greater the increase in acetylcholine, the more likely the mice were to change their future choices. Our results demonstrated the importance of acetylcholine in breaking habits and enabling new choices to be made.”
The more of this brain chemical the mice had, the easier it was for them to change habits. When scientists lowered the mice's ability to produce this chemical, the affected mice got stuck in their old ways and wouldn't switch paths, proving the chemical drives adaptability.
Go easy on yourself
The study shows that several areas of the brain are involved in breaking habits, which makes it a lot harder for you to succeed. So you may want to go easy on yourself if you're currently trying to break a bad habit.
Source: Inc.com
