Factors that motivate men who have sex with men in Berlin, Germany, to use or consider using HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis-A multi-methods analysis of data from a multicentre survey.

BACKGROUND: While our knowledge of what motivates men who have sex with men (MSM) to use HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has grown in recent years, quantitative survey-based studies have not asked MSM explicitly to name their motivations. We did so using a qualitative open-ended question and aimed to categorise the responses and explore whether these were related to where MSM were located along a conceptual continuum of PrEP care. METHODS: In a multicentre survey examining knowledge and use of PrEP among MSM in Berlin, Germany, we additionally asked an open-ended question about motivations for using or considering PrEP. Data were collected from 10/2017-04/2018. One researcher developed a thematic framework deductively from the literature and another did so inductively from the free-text data, and a merged framework was used to code responses independently. We used Fisher's exact test to assess whether the frequency of motivations differed significantly between respondents using or considering PrEP. RESULTS: Of 875 questionnaires, 473 were returned and 228 contained a free-text response. Motivations in the following categories were reported: (1) Safety/protection against HIV (80.2% of participants, including general safety; additional protection to condoms), (2) Mental well-being and quality of life (23.5%, including reduced anxiety; better quality of life), (3) Condom attitudes (18.9% intent not to use condoms), (4) Expectations about sexuality (14.4%, including worry-free sex or more pleasurable sex, with explicit mention of sex or sexuality), (5) Norms/social perspectives (0.8%). The difference in frequencies of motivations between those using or considering PrEP was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Safety and protection against HIV, particularly having additional protection if condoms fail, were the most common motivations for using or considering PrEP, followed by mental well-being and quality of life. Many respondents reported several motivations, and responses overall were heterogeneous. This suggests that approaches to increase PrEP uptake that focus exclusively on its effectiveness in preventing HIV are unlikely to be as successful as a holistic approach that emphasises multiple motivations and how these fit into the broader sexual and psychological health of MSM.

Aversive stimuli bias corticothalamic responses to motivationally significant cues.

Making predictions about future rewards or punishments is fundamental to adaptive behavior. These processes are influenced by prior experience. For example, prior exposure to aversive stimuli or stressors changes behavioral responses to negative- and positive-value predictive cues. Here, we demonstrate a role for medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons projecting to the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT; mPFC→PVT) in this process. We found that a history of aversive stimuli negatively biased behavioral responses to motivationally relevant cues in mice and that this negative bias was associated with hyperactivity in mPFC→PVT neurons during exposure to those cues. Furthermore, artificially mimicking this hyperactive response with selective optogenetic excitation of the same pathway recapitulated the negative behavioral bias induced by aversive stimuli, whereas optogenetic inactivation of mPFC→PVT neurons prevented the development of the negative bias. Together, our results highlight how information flow within the mPFC→PVT circuit is critical for making predictions about motivationally-relevant outcomes as a function of prior experience.

The Music of Silence: Part II: Music Listening Induces Imagery Responses.

During music listening, humans routinely acquire the regularities of the acoustic sequences and use them to anticipate and interpret the ongoing melody. Specifically, in line with this predictive framework, it is thought that brain responses during such listening reflect a comparison between the bottom-up sensory responses and top-down prediction signals generated by an internal model that embodies the music exposure and expectations of the listener. To attain a clear view of these predictive responses, previous work has eliminated the sensory inputs by inserting artificial silences (or sound omissions) that leave behind only the corresponding predictions of the thwarted expectations. Here, we demonstrate a new alternate approach in which we decode the predictive electroencephalography (EEG) responses to the silent intervals that are naturally interspersed within the music. We did this as participants (experiment 1, 20 participants, 10 female; experiment 2, 21 participants, 6 female) listened or imagined Bach piano melodies. Prediction signals were quantified and assessed via a computational model of the melodic structure of the music and were shown to exhibit the same response characteristics when measured during listening or imagining. These include an inverted polarity for both silence and imagined responses relative to listening, as well as response magnitude modulations that precisely reflect the expectations of notes and silences in both listening and imagery conditions. These findings therefore provide a unifying view that links results from many previous paradigms, including omission reactions and the expectation modulation of sensory responses, all in the context of naturalistic music listening.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Music perception depends on our ability to learn and detect melodic structures. It has been suggested that our brain does so by actively predicting upcoming music notes, a process inducing instantaneous neural responses as the music confronts these expectations. Here, we studied this prediction process using EEGs recorded while participants listen to and imagine Bach melodies. Specifically, we examined neural signals during the ubiquitous musical pauses (or silent intervals) in a music stream and analyzed them in contrast to the imagery responses. We find that imagined predictive responses are routinely co-opted during ongoing music listening. These conclusions are revealed by a new paradigm using listening and imagery of naturalistic melodies.

The Music of Silence: Part I: Responses to Musical Imagery Encode Melodic Expectations and Acoustics.

Musical imagery is the voluntary internal hearing of music in the mind without the need for physical action or external stimulation. Numerous studies have already revealed brain areas activated during imagery. However, it remains unclear to what extent imagined music responses preserve the detailed temporal dynamics of the acoustic stimulus envelope and, crucially, whether melodic expectations play any role in modulating responses to imagined music, as they prominently do during listening. These modulations are important as they reflect aspects of the human musical experience, such as its acquisition, engagement, and enjoyment. This study explored the nature of these modulations in imagined music based on EEG recordings from 21 professional musicians (6 females and 15 males). Regression analyses were conducted to demonstrate that imagined neural signals can be predicted accurately, similarly to the listening task, and were sufficiently robust to allow for accurate identification of the imagined musical piece from the EEG. In doing so, our results indicate that imagery and listening tasks elicited an overlapping but distinctive topography of neural responses to sound acoustics, which is in line with previous fMRI literature. Melodic expectation, however, evoked very similar frontal spatial activation in both conditions, suggesting that they are supported by the same underlying mechanisms. Finally, neural responses induced by imagery exhibited a specific transformation from the listening condition, which primarily included a relative delay and a polarity inversion of the response. This transformation demonstrates the top-down predictive nature of the expectation mechanisms arising during both listening and imagery.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT It is well known that the human brain is activated during musical imagery: the act of voluntarily hearing music in our mind without external stimulation. It is unclear, however, what the temporal dynamics of this activation are, as well as what musical features are precisely encoded in the neural signals. This study uses an experimental paradigm with high temporal precision to record and analyze the cortical activity during musical imagery. This study reveals that neural signals encode music acoustics and melodic expectations during both listening and imagery. Crucially, it is also found that a simple mapping based on a time-shift and a polarity inversion could robustly describe the relationship between listening and imagery signals.

Key role for hypothalamic interleukin-6 in food-motivated behavior and body weight regulation.

The pro-inflammatory role of interleukin-6 (IL-6) is well-characterized. Blockade of IL-6, by Tocilizumab, is used in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and those diagnosed with cytokine storm. However, brain-produced IL-6 has recently emerged as a critical mediator of gut/adipose communication with the brain. Central nervous system (CNS) IL-6 is engaged by peripheral and central signals regulating energy homeostasis. IL-6 is critical for mediating hypophagia and weight loss effects of a GLP-1 analog, exendin-4, a clinically utilized drug. However, neuroanatomical substrates and behavioral mechanisms of brain IL-6 energy balance control remain poorly understood. We propose that the lateral hypothalamus (LH) is an IL-6-harboring brain region, key to food intake and food reward control. Microinjections of IL-6 into the LH reduced chow and palatable food intake in male rats. In contrast, female rats responded with reduced motivated behavior for sucrose, measured by the progressive ratio operant conditioning test, a behavioral mechanism previously not linked to IL-6. To test whether IL-6, produced in the LH, is necessary for ingestive and motivated behaviors, and body weight homeostasis, virogenetic knockdown by infusion of AAV-siRNA-IL6 into the LH was utilized. Attenuation of LH IL-6 resulted in a potent increase in sucrose-motivated behavior, without any effect on ingestive behavior or body weight in female rats. In contrast, the treatment did not affect any parameters measured (chow intake, sucrose-motivated behavior, locomotion, and body weight) in chow-fed males. However, when challenged with a high-fat/high-sugar diet, the male LH IL-6 knockdown rats displayed rapid weight gain and hyperphagia. Together, our data suggest that LH-produced IL-6 is necessary and sufficient for ingestive behavior and weight homeostasis in male rats. In females, IL-6 in the LH plays a critical role in food-motivated, but not ingestive behavior control or weight regulation. Thus, collectively these data support the idea that brain-produced IL-6 engages the hypothalamus to control feeding behavior.

Ninjin'yoeito, a traditional Japanese Kampo medicine, suppresses the onset of anhedonia induced by dysfunction in the striatal dopamine receptor type 2-expressing medium spiny neurons.

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have suggested that ninjin'yoeito (NYT), a traditional Japanese Kampo medicine, improves diminished motivation in humans and animals, rendering it a novel therapeutic option for impaired motivation. To better characterize the effect of NYT on motivation, we examined its effect on motivated behaviors in mice. METHODS: Mouse models of neurodegeneration-related apathy, in which striatal dopamine receptor type 2-expressing medium spiny neurons (D2-MSNs) were progressively damaged by diphtheria toxin expression, were chosen. RESULTS: The decrease in effort-based operant responding for rewards (sucrose pellets), indicative of the mouse's motivated behavior, in the affected mice was not suppressed by chronic treatment with NYT suspended in drinking water at 1% (w/v). Mice were then subjected to a sucrose preference test, wherein they freely chose to ingest tap water and a sucrose solution without being required to exert effort. The affected mice showed a decline in preference for sucrose over tap water, relative to nonaffected controls, indicating anhedonia-like traits. In contrast to the diminished operant behavior, the anhedonic behavior in the affected mice was prevented by the NYT administration. Furthermore, NYT did not affect the size of Drd2 mRNA disappearance in the striatum of affected mice, suggesting that the NYT effect was unrelated to DTA-mediated neurodegeneration. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that the beneficial effect of NYT on motivation is mediated, at least in part, through the potentiation of hedonic capacity by certain neuromodulatory pathways.

Characteristic time in highly motivated movements of children and adults through bottlenecks.

Current codes for fire protection of buildings are mainly based on the movement of adults and neglect the movement characteristic of pre-school children. Having a profound comprehension of the difference between children and adults passing bottlenecks is of great help to improve the safety levels of preschool children. This paper presents an experimental study on the bottleneck flow of pre-school children in a room. The movement characteristics of children's and adults' bottleneck flow are investigated with two macroscopic properties: density and speed profiles as well as microscopic characteristic time: motion activation time, relaxation time, exit travel time and time gap. Arch-like density distributions are observed both for highly motivated children and adults, while the distance between the peak density region and the exit location is shorter for children and longer for adults. Children's movement is less flexible manifested as longer motion activation time and longer relaxation time compared to that of adults. The findings from this study could enhance the understanding of crowd dynamics among the children population and provide supports for the scientific building design for children's facilities.

Motivation and Engagement during Visually Guided Behavior.

Animal behavior is motivated by internal drives, such as thirst and hunger, generated in hypothalamic neurons that project widely to many brain areas. We find that water-restricted mice maintain stable, high-level contrast sensitivity and brief reaction time while performing a visual task, but then abruptly stop and become disengaged. Mice consume a significant amount of water when freely provided in their home cage immediately after the task, indicating that disengagement does not reflect cessation of thirst. Neuronal responses of V1 neurons are reduced in the disengaged state, but pupil diameter does not decrease, suggesting that animals' reduced level of arousal does not drive the transition to disengagement. Our findings indicate that satiation level alone does not have an instructive role in visually guided behavior and suggest that animals' behavior is governed by cost-benefit analysis that can override thirst signals.

Hypnosis-induced modulation of corticospinal excitability during motor imagery.

Hypnosis can be considered an altered state of consciousness in which individuals produce movements under suggestion without apparent voluntary control. Despite its application in contexts implying motor control, evidence for the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying hypnosis is scarce. Inter-individual differences in hypnotic susceptibility suggest that sensorimotor strategies may manifest in a hypnotic state. We tested by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation applied over the primary motor cortex whether motor system activation during a motor imagery task differs in the awake and in the hypnotic state. To capture individual differences, 30 healthy volunteers were classified as high or low hypnotizable (Highs and Lows) according to ad-hoc validated scales measuring hypnotic susceptibility and personality questionnaires. Corticospinal activation during motor imagery in the hypnotic state was greater in the Highs than the Lows. Intrinsic motivation in task performance and level of persuasion modulated corticospinal activation in the Highs. Corticospinal system activation under hypnosis may have practical implications that merit research in areas where hypnosis can be applied to improve motor performance, such as loss of motor abilities and sports.

Dynamic EEG analysis during language comprehension reveals interactive cascades between perceptual processing and sentential expectations.

Understanding spoken language requires analysis of the rapidly unfolding speech signal at multiple levels: acoustic, phonological, and semantic. However, there is not yet a comprehensive picture of how these levels relate. We recorded electroencephalography (EEG) while listeners (N = 31) heard sentences in which we manipulated acoustic ambiguity (e.g., a bees/peas continuum) and sentential expectations (e.g., Honey is made by bees). EEG was analyzed with a mixed effects model over time to quantify how language processing cascades proceed on a millisecond-by-millisecond basis. Our results indicate: (1) perceptual processing and memory for fine-grained acoustics is preserved in brain activity for up to 900 msec; (2) contextual analysis begins early and is graded with respect to the acoustic signal; and (3) top-down predictions influence perceptual processing in some cases, however, these predictions are available simultaneously with the veridical signal. These mechanistic insights provide a basis for a better understanding of the cortical language network.

Ketamine Affects Prediction Errors about Statistical Regularities: A Computational Single-Trial Analysis of the Mismatch Negativity.

The auditory mismatch negativity (MMN) is significantly reduced in schizophrenia. Notably, a similar MMN reduction can be achieved with NMDA receptor (NMDAR) antagonists. Both phenomena have been interpreted as reflecting an impairment of predictive coding or, more generally, the "Bayesian brain" notion that the brain continuously updates a hierarchical model to infer the causes of its sensory inputs. Specifically, neurobiological interpretations of predictive coding view perceptual inference as an NMDAR-dependent process of minimizing hierarchical precision-weighted prediction errors (PEs), and disturbances of this putative process play a key role in hierarchical Bayesian theories of schizophrenia. Here, we provide empirical evidence for this theory, demonstrating the existence of multiple, hierarchically related PEs in a "roving MMN" paradigm. We applied a hierarchical Bayesian model to single-trial EEG data from healthy human volunteers of either sex who received the NMDAR antagonist S-ketamine in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, within-subject fashion. Using an unrestricted analysis of the entire time-sensor space, our trial-by-trial analysis indicated that low-level PEs (about stimulus transitions) are expressed early (102-207 ms poststimulus), while high-level PEs (about transition probability) are reflected by later components (152-199 and 215-277 ms) of single-trial responses. Furthermore, we find that ketamine significantly diminished the expression of high-level PE responses, implying that NMDAR antagonism disrupts the inference on abstract statistical regularities. Our findings suggest that NMDAR dysfunction impairs hierarchical Bayesian inference about the world's statistical structure. Beyond the relevance of this finding for schizophrenia, our results illustrate the potential of computational single-trial analyses for assessing potential pathophysiological mechanisms.

Partnerships between universities and nonprofit transition coaching organizations to increase student success.

AIMS: This study aims to understand the motivations and benefits for universities and nonprofit college access and success organizations to develop formal partnerships. METHODS: Participants in this study were staff from a major urban research university (n = 22) and four nonprofit organizations (n = 17) that promote college access and success among underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation college students. Participants engaged in an audio-recorded interview that was transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Data suggested that staff from the universities and nonprofit organizations were both holistic in their understanding of college student success. In addition, they were both motivated to form partnerships in an effort to reduce barriers to success, although they, at times, identified different barriers that they wanted the partnership to address. Both university and nonprofit staff saw increased effectiveness of their practice as a result of partnering and university staff gained a better understanding of the greater nonprofit college access and success community. CONCLUSION: Given the intense support that nonprofit organizations are able to provide with their level of funding, partnerships with universities can increase the success of underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation college students.

Neurophysiological evidence for evaluative feedback processing depending on goal relevance.

Feedback signaling the success or failure of actions is readily exploited to implement goal-directed behavior. Two event-related brain potentials (ERPs) have been identified as reliable markers of evaluative feedback processing: the Feedback-Related Negativity (FRN) and the P3. Recent ERP studies have shown a substantial reduction of these components when the feedback's goal relevance (in terms of goal informativeness) was decreased. However, it remains unclear whether this lowering of evaluative feedback processing at the FRN and P3 levels (i) reflects a common regulation process operating across them or (ii) indirectly and mostly depends on valence processing. To address these questions, 44 participants performed a time estimation task wherein the perceived goal relevance of the feedback following each decision was manipulated via instructions in different blocks. We recorded 64-channel EEG and collected subjective ratings of feedback valence and relevance, separately for goal-relevant and irrelevant conditions. ERP results showed a substantial reduction of the FRN and P3 components for irrelevant than relevant feedback, despite the balanced task relevance between them. Moreover, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that these two successive ERP effects had dissociable spatiotemporal properties. Crucially, a multivariate multiple regression analysis revealed that goal relevance per se, but not valence, was the unique significant predictor of the amplitude reduction of the FRN and P3 when the feedback was goal irrelevant. Our results suggest that although these ERP components exhibit non-overlapping spatiotemporal properties and performance monitoring effects, they can both be modulated by a common, valence-unspecific process related to goal relevance.

Decomposing neural responses to melodic surprise in musicians and non-musicians: Evidence for a hierarchy of predictions in the auditory system.

Neural responses to auditory surprise are typically studied with highly unexpected, disruptive sounds. Consequently, little is known about auditory prediction in everyday contexts that are characterized by fine-grained, non-disruptive fluctuations of auditory surprise. To address this issue, we used IDyOM, a computational model of auditory expectation, to obtain continuous surprise estimates for a set of newly composed melodies. Our main goal was to assess whether the neural correlates of non-disruptive surprising sounds in a musical context are affected by musical expertise. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), auditory responses were recorded from musicians and non-musicians while they listened to the melodies. Consistent with a previous study, the amplitude of the N1m component increased with higher levels of computationally estimated surprise. This effect, however, was not different between the two groups. Further analyses offered an explanation for this finding: Pitch interval size itself, rather than probabilistic prediction, was responsible for the modulation of the N1m, thus pointing to low-level sensory adaptation as the underlying mechanism. In turn, the formation of auditory regularities and proper probabilistic prediction were reflected in later components: The mismatch negativity (MMNm) and the P3am, respectively. Overall, our findings reveal a hierarchy of expectations in the auditory system and highlight the need to properly account for sensory adaptation in research addressing statistical learning.

Animal Assisted Therapy for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Parent perspectives.

Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is an intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This study explores parent perspectives of the impact of five AAT sessions involving trained dogs with their children with ASD. A phenomenological qualitative approach was used to explore first-hand perspectives of parents. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Seventeen parents reported that the presence of the dogs facilitated their children's engagement, enjoyment, and motivation. Parents also reported that this contributed to gains in the child's communication with others and the dog (n = 11, 64.7%), behavioral regulation (n = 12, 70.6%), and community participation (n = 14, 82.3%). These findings indicate that parents supported the use of AAT and that dogs facilitated therapeutic gains.

A systematic review of technology-based psychotherapeutic interventions for decreasing cannabis use in patients with psychosis.

Persistent use of cannabis in persons with psychosis is associated with poor symptomatic and functional outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Face-to-face psychological interventions (e.g., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy- [CBT], Motivation Enhancement Therapy- [MET]) are widely used in treating problematic cannabis use. We aimed to comprehensively review the efficacy of technology-based psychological interventions (TBPIs) in decreasing cannabis use, the design of TBPIs, and TBPI-related preferences in individuals with psychosis. For the systematic review, we searched six major databases from their inception to November 27, 2019. We included empirical articles of quantitative and qualitative methodologies related to TBPIs in individuals with psychosis and cannabis misuse and used narrative synthesis to report results. Only eight articles were found showing that technology-based motivational and psycho-education interventions and cognitive enhancement therapy were minimally efficient in achieving cannabis abstinence or decreasing frequency of use. Qualitative exploratory methods and participatory action research were used to elicit patient and clinician preferences and TBPIs were tailored accordingly to improve cannabis use related outcomes. Research on TBPIs in individuals with psychosis and cannabis misuse is in its early phases. A significant research effort is needed for the development of adapted interventions for CUD to capitalize on the potential of web-based applications.

Exploring perceived benefits, motives, barriers, and recommendations for prescribing yoga exercises as a nonpharmacological intervention for patients with epilepsy: A qualitative study from Palestine.

OBJECTIVES: Yoga is believed to play a role in stabilizing the electroencephalogram and the autonomic nervous system, thus might help control seizures in people with epilepsy (PWE). This qualitative study was conducted to explore experiences of Palestinian PWE with regard to benefits, motives, barriers, and recommendations of prescribing yoga exercises as a nonpharmacological intervention. METHODS: Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit PWE who practiced yoga. Semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 18) were conducted with the study participants. The interpretive description method was used to qualitatively analyze the data collected during the interviews. RESULTS: Following the thematic analysis adopted for this study, four major themes emerged. These themes were as follows: perceived benefits of yoga, motives to practice yoga, barriers to practice yoga, and recommendations on effective yoga practice for PWE. The perceived benefits included improvements in management of seizures, psychological, physical, and social well-being. People with epilepsy were motivated by the health benefits of yoga. Barriers of adherence to practice included personal and logistic factors. The interviewees recommended tailoring yoga sessions to the needs of PWE. CONCLUSION: This explorative qualitative study reported perceived benefits, motives, barriers, and recommendations of yoga as a nonpharmacological intervention for PWE. People with epilepsy used yoga as a beneficial nonpharmacological intervention to improve their health and reduce the negative effects of epilepsy on their physical and psychosocial well-being. Future studies are needed to investigate the health benefits of yoga when sessions are tailored to the needs of PWE.

Shared striatal activity in decisions to satisfy curiosity and hunger at the risk of electric shocks.

Curiosity is often portrayed as a desirable feature of human faculty. However, curiosity may come at a cost that sometimes puts people in harmful situations. Here, using a set of behavioural and neuroimaging experiments with stimuli that strongly trigger curiosity (for example, magic tricks), we examine the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying the motivational effect of curiosity. We consistently demonstrate that across different samples, people are indeed willing to gamble, subjecting themselves to electric shocks to satisfy their curiosity for trivial knowledge that carries no apparent instrumental value. Also, this influence of curiosity shares common neural mechanisms with that of hunger for food. In particular, we show that acceptance (compared to rejection) of curiosity-driven or incentive-driven gambles is accompanied by enhanced activity in the ventral striatum when curiosity or hunger was elicited, which extends into the dorsal striatum when participants made a decision.

The sensation of groove engages motor and reward networks.

The sensation of groove has been defined as the pleasurable desire to move to music, suggesting that both motor timing and reward processes are involved in this experience. Although many studies have investigated rhythmic timing and musical reward separately, none have examined whether the associated cortical and subcortical networks are engaged while participants listen to groove-based music. In the current study, musicians and non-musicians listened to and rated experimentally controlled groove-based stimuli while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Medium complexity rhythms elicited higher ratings of pleasure and wanting to move and were associated with activity in regions linked to beat perception and reward, as well as prefrontal and parietal regions implicated in generating and updating stimuli-based expectations. Activity in basal ganglia regions of interest, including the nucleus accumbens, caudate and putamen, was associated with ratings of pleasure and wanting to move, supporting their important role in the sensation of groove. We propose a model in which different cortico-striatal circuits interact to support the mechanisms underlying groove, including internal generation of the beat, beat-based expectations, and expectation-based affect. These results show that the sensation of groove is supported by motor and reward networks in the brain and, along with our proposed model, suggest that the basal ganglia are crucial nodes in networks that interact to generate this powerful response to music.

Pro-opiomelanocortin Neurons and the Transcriptional Regulation of Motivated Exercise.

Hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons are key sensory neurons for energy balance. The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor NHLH2 is expressed in POMC neurons, and Nhlh2 knockout mice show adult-onset obesity with low exercise behavior. Evidence is presented to explore the hypothesis that NHLH2 transcriptional activity within POMC neurons is crucial for maintaining motivated spontaneous activity and enforced exercise.