High levels of ghrelin (a hormone) have antidepressant effect, a new study suggests

The levels of a hormone known as ghrelin greatly increase when our bodies want more calories for themselves. Ghrelin is known as a hunger inciter but according to a new research it may be a reaction of its basic job as a stress-buster.
Researchers used different methods, like prolonged calorie restriction, ghrelin injection and genetic modification, to manipulate ghrelin levels in mice.

It was found that Mice with limited ghrelin activity looked depressed and when they were pushed into water, they didn’t make any effort to swim and in maze they stickled to the entryway. They were also more involved in themselves when they were placed with other mice. And it was also noted when a low-dose of antidepressant was given to them, these behaviors began to get reverse.

On the other hand, mice that had high levels of gherlin were found quite energetic in deep water, much more social and eager to explore new environment.

In test like these, mice are considered to be good analogues for humans. The study was sponsored by the National Institute of Health and other organizations and it can be seen in the July issue of the Nature Neuroscience’s Journal.

According to researchers this hunger-provoked happiness is an adaptive appraisal as concentration, clear-headed perception and sometimes cooperation is often required to get food particularly in the wild.

The levels of ghrelin do not only rise because of the hunger as social anxiety can also stimulate it. It was found that ghrelin levels increased considerably when the mice were exposed to an older boss-like mouse.

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