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Neuroscience

The power of positivity

Nature volume 522, pages 294–295 (2015)Cite this article

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Stimulating neurons in the brain's hippocampus that are normally activated by pleasurable experiences protects mice from the depressive consequences of stress. See Letter p.335

Our ability to construct a personal narrative and to establish a sense of identity depends on our recollection of past events, the most significant of which are inevitably associated with emotions. Understanding how emotion-laden memories affect behaviour forms the bedrock of psychotherapy treatments, but the biology of this process is poorly understood. On page 335 of this issue, Ramirez et al.1 shed light on the subject, demonstrating that depressive-like stress responses in mice can be acutely suppressed through artificial reactivation of a small population of neurons that had previously been activated by a positive experience.

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Figure 1: Light-induced stress relief.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alex Dranovsky and E. David Leonardo are in the Department of Psychiatry, Division of Integrative Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA, and at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.,

    Alex Dranovsky & E. David Leonardo

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  1. Alex Dranovsky
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  2. E. David Leonardo
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Correspondence to Alex Dranovsky or E. David Leonardo.

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Dranovsky, A., Leonardo, E. The power of positivity. Nature 522, 294–295 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/522294a

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