The Crucial Role of Orexin in Deciding Between Exercise and Snacks

In a groundbreaking study, researchers at ETH Zurich have discovered that the brain chemical orexin and the neurons that produce it play a crucial role in the decision-making process between exercise and snacks. This finding could help people who struggle with motivating themselves to exercise.The researchers found that mice with an intact orexin system spent twice as much time on the running wheel and half as much time at the milkshake bar as the mice whose orexin system had been blocked. This suggests that the primary role of the orexin system is not to control how much the mice move or how much they eat, but rather to make the decision between the two when both options are available. The researchers expect that orexin may also be responsible for this decision in humans, and they plan to verify their results in human studies.