In life, motivation can be the difference between success and failure, goal-setting and aimlessness, well-being and unhappiness. And yet, becoming and staying motivated is often the hardest step, a problem which has prompted much research.
A very small part of that research has looked into the question of metabolism. “Do differences in metabolites in the brain affect our capacity for motivation?” asks Professor Carmen Sandi at EPFL’s School of Life Sciences. “If that is the case, could nutritional interventions that can affect metabolite levels be an effective vehicle to improve motivated performance?”
Sandi’s group, with their colleagues at the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, have now published a study that shines the first light into answering that question. The researchers focused on an area deep into the brain called the “nucleus accumbens,” which is known to play a major role regulating functions like reward, reinforcement, aversion, and not least, motivation.
Metabolism and oxidative stress in the brain
The idea behind the study was that the brain itself — like all tissues in our body — is subjected to constant oxidative stress, as a result of its metabolism.
What is oxidative stress? As cells “eat” various molecules for fuel, they produce a number of toxic waste products in the form of highly reactive molecules collectively known as “oxidative species.” Of course, cells have a number of mechanisms in place to clear oxidative species out, restoring the cell’s chemical balance. But that battle is ongoing, sometimes that balance is disturbed and that disturbance that’s what we call “oxidative stress.”
The glutathione connection
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