What makes us happy? The family? The friends? The money? Love? According to scientists at the University of California (UCLA), at least at the chemical level everything is in the hands of a peptide that acts as a neurotransmitter and is called hypocretin . As the researchers publish in Nature Communications , the concentration of this peptide increases when we feel happy while it decreases when we are sad and dejected.
Experiments carried out measuring hypocretin levels in eight patients while watching television, interacting with other subjects, eating, etc. showed that hypocretin levels were highest when positive emotions were experienced, as well as in social interactions and in situations that elicited anger. Furthermore, this peptide was always associated with the waking state. On the other hand, the scientists claim to have verified that, in its absence, "we stopped looking for the sensation of pleasure ." "Abnormalities in the activation of this system could contribute to various psychiatric disorders," concludes Jerome Siegel, co-author of the study.
Hypocretin antagonists are currently used as sleeping pills, which, according to the new work, in addition to changing sleep patterns could negatively alter mood. In fact, Siegel and his colleagues are convinced that directly administering hypocretin to humans could improve mood and alertness levels. In other words, this protein could become the "happiness pill" .
