The study was conducted in mice by a group of scientists led by Panayotis (Peter) K. Thanos, a senior scientific researcher at RIA.
Dr. Thanos and his team studied dopamine genes to evaluate their effect on life expectancy and behavior in mice. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control pleasure centers in the brain and helps regulate physical mobility and emotional response.
The researchers have found that D2 (D2R) dopamine receptor significantly affects life expectancy, body weight and physical activity, but only in combination with the external environment which includes social interaction, sensory and cognitive stimulation and most importantly, physical exercises. Dr. Thanos called this environment enriched.
“Physical activity is an important part of environment and its benefits have been shown to be a powerful mediator of brain function and behavior,” said Dr. Thanos.
Mice in such an enriched environment lived on average 16-22% longer than those lived in environment without any chance of physical activity.
“These results provide us with the first evidence of interaction between genes and the environment. D2R receptor is really playing an important role in life expectancy and aging,” said Dr. Thanos.
Studies on this genetic interaction should lead to a better understanding and prediction of potential benefits of specific conditions and their impact on life expectancy and health during the aging process.