{"data":{"id":1806,"lang":"en","title":"Scientists Find the Brain Chemical That Lets Us Break Old Habits: A Surge of Acetylcholine","summary":"Scientists at Japan's OIST found a surge of the brain chemical acetylcholine is what lets the brain abandon old habits when they stop paying off.","category":"science","category_label":"Science","published_at":"2026-06-10T10:02:44Z","updated_at":"2026-06-10T10:02:44Z","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/1806-scientists-find-the-brain-chemical-that-lets-us-break-old-habits-a-surge-of","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/1806?lang=en","markdown_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/1806.md?lang=en","image_url":"https://www.sciencedaily.com/images/1920/sunset-head-brain-missing-puzzle-piece.webp","word_count":176,"reading_time_minutes":1,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260606075901.htm","domain":"sciencedaily.com"},{"url":"https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-the-brain-chemical-that-helps-break-old-habits/","domain":"scitechdaily.com"}],"translation":{"lang":"cs","id":1879,"title":"Vědci objevili mozkovou látku, která nám umožňuje měnit zažité návyky: nával acetylcholinu","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/1879-vedci-objevili-mozkovou-latku-ktera-nam-umoznuje-menit-zazite-navyky-naval","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/1879?lang=cs"},"content":"Researchers at Japan's Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) have identified a brain chemical that helps animals abandon old habits the moment they stop working. Watching mice navigate a virtual-reality maze, the team found that when an expected reward suddenly failed to appear, the brain released a surge of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine — and the bigger the surge, the more likely the mouse was to switch strategies.\n\nUsing two-photon microscopy to watch brain activity in real time, the scientists saw acetylcholine spike at the exact moment of disappointment, pushing the mice toward 'lose-shift' behavior — changing their choice after a failed attempt. When the researchers blocked the chemical, the animals became rigid, stubbornly sticking with outdated routes even as they kept failing.\n\nThe findings, published in Nature Communications, cast acetylcholine as a key signal for behavioral flexibility and could help explain disorders marked by rigid, repetitive behavior, from addiction to obsessive-compulsive disorder. The authors say understanding how the brain knows when to let go of a habit is a first step toward treatments that restore that flexibility."}}