Hungry mice will seek out food in fearful situations that they would normally avoid, and researchers have pinpointed the neurons in the brain that seem to control this behaviour.

Michael Krashes at the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and his colleagues stimulated appetite-regulating neurons in the hypothalami of mice that had recently been fed, and observed their behaviour in various settings. They found that the animals were more willing than non-stimulated ones to enter open, unprotected spaces or areas infused with fox odour in order to obtain food. Hungry or brain-stimulated males also opted to pursue food rather than spend time with a female mouse.

Future studies could reveal how these neurons suppress competing drives such as fear and sociality.

Neuron http://doi.org/brbf (2016)