Thyroid hormone fuels the drive to explore by rewiring brain circuits, new study suggests

Thyroid hormone plays a key role in regulating a range of physiologic functions, including metabolism, temperature, heart rate, and growth. It accomplishes this impressive array of activities by interacting with almost every organ system in the body. Yet despite a long history of research on how thyroid hormone influences different organs, its effects on arguably the most crucial organ—the brain—have remained shrouded in mystery. Now, scientists at Harvard Medical School have gained new insights into thyroid hormone’s effects on the brain. The work, conducted in mice and published Aug. 22 in Cell, shows that thyroid hormone changes the wiring of Read More