JERUSALEM, July 17 -- Israeli researchers demonstrated that activating dopamine neurons in the brain's reward system could boost recovery from a heart attack, the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) said in a statement on Wednesday.

In a new study published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, Technion scientists looked into how the brain's reward system, a group of neuron structures responsible for pleasure, motivation, and positive expectation, bears the potential to improve recovery from acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as a heart attack.

The team experimenting on mice discovered that following a heart attack, stimulating the release of dopamine in a brain area responsible for processing sensory information and controlling reward-motivated behaviors reduces myocardial fibrosis, increases blood vessel formation, and enhances cardiac performance.

The effects were mediated through changes in immune activity and reduced adrenergic input to the liver. The team also demonstrated an anatomical connection between the reward system and the liver, and how this connection alters the release of an immune protein in the liver and in turn affects heart recovery.

The study findings establish a causal connection between the reward system and recovery from AMI, introducing potential therapeutic avenues for intervention, the Technion said.

It noted that the discovered effect on mice is potentially achievable on humans by available, non-invasive methods to actively stimulate the reward system, including pharmacological interventions, biofeedback, and focused ultrasound.

Consequently, the Technion researchers' scientific discovery could have meaningful future implications for the treatment of heart attacks.

  - Xinhua