Overview
- Researchers tracked ventromedial hypothalamus SF1 neurons and found they fire during runs and stay active for at least an hour afterward.
- Blocking these neurons throughout training prevented mice from improving endurance despite repeated treadmill sessions.
- Silencing SF1 neurons only after workouts also erased the expected endurance gains, pinpointing a critical post-exercise window.
- Artificially activating SF1 neurons enhanced performance, while weeks of training increased their activity and doubled excitatory spine density.
- The work was done in mice, the mechanism remains unclear, and the team urges human studies even as they note possible future clinical and athletic applications.