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Gut microbes shape athletic motivation

Microorganisms in the gut produce molecules that activate sensory neurons, stimulating exercise-associated reward circuits in the brain. This newly discovered pathway in mice affects motivation for prolonged exercise.
  1. Gulistan Agirman

    1. Gulistan Agirman is in the Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.

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  2. Elaine Y. Hsiao

    1. Elaine Y. Hsiao is in the Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.

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Thousands of studies have established that routine physical activity lowers the risk of chronic illness, improves cognitive function and decreases overall mortality. The best health outcomes are associated with exercise in the form of prolonged and recurrent training sessions1. If the health benefits of exercise are undisputable, then why do so many people adopt a sedentary lifestyle? A lack of motivation or an intolerance to physical exercise are often the culprits, and some suggest that a shift in mindset would be enough to take up daily exercise2. However, writing in Nature, Dohnalová et al.3 report that the motivation to perform long-term physical activities in mice is not exclusively driven by the brain but is, in fact, underpinned by the input of gut bacteria.

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Nature 612, 633-634 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-04355-3

References

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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