Our brain has a kind of switch that regulates our behavior in the face of sensory information that comes to us from our environment. This is demonstrated by the latest study by a team of scientists from NERF (Neuro Electronics Research Flanders) and VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology).
Brain processes are unraveling little by little thanks to neuroscience, but certainly our brain itself is complex enough to reveal its secrets with ease. Brain processing at the level of neural information circuits is perhaps the least transparent part and it is the one that this group of researchers has focused on. After studying the brain process of the zebrafish in order to find out how the brain combines internal and external stimuli, they discovered that the dorsal habenula (equivalent to the mammalian habenula which is nothing but the brain processor of learning and stress) acted as brain switch to trigger different behaviors .
Thus, our brain switch is nothing but the habenula, which works by selecting certain sensory information to then send it to the posterior areas of the brain stem, thus regulating our behavior .
The team has integrated neurobiology and nano-scale engineering to delve into brain functions at various levels of detail. Thanks to this multidisciplinary approach, researchers have been able to look beyond brain cells to study neural circuits and their link to behavior.
