Proteins linked to longevity may be involved in mood control
Over the past decade, MIT biologist Leonard Guarente and others have shown that very-low-calorie diets provoke a comprehensive physiological response that promotes survival, all orchestrated by a set of proteins called sirtuins.In a new paper that appeared online in Cell on Dec. 8, Guarente and colleagues have now shown that sirtuins likely also play a key role in the psychological response to dietary restriction. When sirtuins are elevated in the brain, as occurs when food intake is cut, mice become much more anxious. Furthermore, in two large genetic studies of humans, the team found that mutations that boost production of sirtuins are commonly associated with higher rates of anxiety and panic disorder.The researchers believe that this anxiety may be an evolutionary adaption that makes animals — including humans — more cautious under the stressful condition of having to forage more widely for scarce food.“It makes sense, because behavior effects would...