How Type 2 Diabetes Changes Your Brain
Your brain is like a computer – it takes input from your environment and your interactions and as output, helps you make decisions, and experience emotion. A key part of your brain is the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a section of the front side of your brain that is responsible for emotional response, reward processing, and many other cognitive functions. Dysfunction of the ACC has been found to cause many psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders – many of which have also been linked to diabetes, specifically Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), a metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar due to not enough insulin being produced by your body, or due to your body’s cells resisting insulin. Given this connection, this study studied how exactly type 2 diabetes impacts the ACC directly, particularly the reward processing aspect.
In this study, researchers conducted an experiment with rats to study how unregulated high blood sugar impacts the ACC. Firstly, they mimicked type 2 diabetes in male rats by injecting them with varying doses of streptozotocin (STZ), a drug that is toxic to the cells that produce insulin in your pancreas. This caused constant high blood sugar, also known as hyperglycemia, in the rats, at a level around ≥250 mg/dl (> 126 mg/dl is considered diabetic (1)). They also had a control group of rats that were not introduced to STZ. Both of these groups were taught to navigate a T-shaped maze, with the reward in the maze being a sugar-free chocolate beverage. To determine how the induced diabetes affected the ACC, the scientists put in electrodes that measure the electrical current in the brain on the ACC and another part of the brain that the ACC frequently communicates with called the hippocampus, which is important for spatial navigation and short-term memory, as well as reward-based learning.
In this study, researchers conducted an experiment with rats to study how unregulated high blood sugar impacts the ACC. Firstly, they mimicked type 2 diabetes in male rats by injecting them with varying doses of streptozotocin (STZ), a drug that is toxic to the cells that produce insulin in your pancreas. This caused constant high blood sugar, also known as hyperglycemia, in the rats, at a level around ≥250 mg/dl (> 126 mg/dl is considered diabetic (1)). They also had a control group of rats that were not introduced to STZ. Both of these groups were taught to navigate a T-shaped maze, with the reward in the maze being a sugar-free chocolate beverage. To determine how the induced diabetes affected the ACC, the scientists put in electrodes that measure the electrical current in the brain on the ACC and another part of the brain that the ACC frequently communicates with called the hippocampus, which is important for spatial navigation and short-term memory, as well as reward-based learning.
Brain cells termed “place cells” which control spatial information processing in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were upregulated in the mice with induced diabetes.
Image Source: Viktor Hanacek
Ultimately, this research showed a lot of differences between the diabetic rats and the control rats that were not administered STZ. Firstly, the rats with diabetes had more brain cells termed “place cells” that control spatial information processing in their ACCs. Spatial information processing controls the ability to tell where things are around you and it is important for animals to interact and respond to their environment. In addition, while the control rats spent more time at the reward location itself, the diabetic rats spent more time in the pre-reward regions. This difference was significant, indicating that diabetes causes a core difference in how your brain processes rewards. This was because in normal rats, the brain cells in the ACC had a very distinct activity when the rat was at the reward location, meaning that it is able to recognize and respond to the reward location differently than other locations. However, this recognition was decreased in the diabetic rats. Brainwaves called theta rhythms, which are important for learning and memory, were also interrupted in the diabetic rats, especially when it came to reward processing.
These results show the deep impact that diabetes can have on your body beyond just high blood sugar. Diabetes alters brain processing to the point that your brain starts to bias anticipating rewards rather than enjoying them. This explains why those with diabetes experience changes in their cognitive abilities when diabetes is uncontrolled and highlights the importance of diabetes management.
For those with diabetes, the key message is this: Ultimately, diabetes affects more than your ability to eat sweets – it changes your brain. Maintaining your blood sugar with diet, exercise, and using medication as prescribed and recommended by your provider can help preserve your brain function and prevent abnormalities in how it interprets rewards.
These results show the deep impact that diabetes can have on your body beyond just high blood sugar. Diabetes alters brain processing to the point that your brain starts to bias anticipating rewards rather than enjoying them. This explains why those with diabetes experience changes in their cognitive abilities when diabetes is uncontrolled and highlights the importance of diabetes management.
For those with diabetes, the key message is this: Ultimately, diabetes affects more than your ability to eat sweets – it changes your brain. Maintaining your blood sugar with diet, exercise, and using medication as prescribed and recommended by your provider can help preserve your brain function and prevent abnormalities in how it interprets rewards.
Featured Image Source: Artem Podrez
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