New research suggests that Type 2 diabetes (T2D) may quietly induce changes in the brain that closely resemble the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, specifically by weakening reward perception and memory signals in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
High Comorbidity
In a recent study featured in JNeurosci’s Computational Properties of the Prefrontal Cortex Special Collection, James Hyman and colleagues from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, investigated a potential link between Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and psychiatric or neurodegenerative disorders: the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
The high comorbidity of T2D with conditions like mood disorders and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) underscores the importance of understanding their underlying connections. The ACC is a brain region crucial for supporting behaviors related to cognition and emotions, and it is known to be involved in some T2D-associated diseases.
Linkage Established
In their investigation into the link between Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and neurological function, James Hyman and colleagues conducted a study on male rats navigating a cognitively demanding maze to seek rewards. Their findings revealed significant differences in brain activity and behavior in rats with T2D.
All rats successfully pursued rewards within the maze. However, the researchers observed that the areas where rewards were received were less salient to the T2D rats. This reduced salience was correlated with weaker anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) reward signals in these specific locations, causing the diabetic rats to not linger long in these rewarding spots. The team pinpointed this weakened reward signal to a dampened input into the ACC from the hippocampus, a brain region critically involved in spatial memory.
Hyman explained the team’s interpretation: “We think the hippocampus tells the rat where it is in the maze, and the ACC tells the rat what it is doing and that it’s getting a reward. These things should come together and make the rat remember it was just in a special, rewarding location, but this doesn’t happen with the ones that have T2D.”
This study underscores the close relationship between T2D and deficits in reward and spatial processing. The authors suggest that the hippocampus-to-ACC projection could be a valuable target for exploring treatments for mood disorders, to which the ACC is already known to be linked.
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Source: SciTech Daily
