Reward System Activation Improves Recovery from Acute Myocardial Infarction".

The recovery from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is influenced by physiological and psychological factors. While the physiological effects have been extensively studied, the contribution of psychological factors and whether they can be modulated is not completely clear. Here we show that the activity of the reward system, a brain network involved in motivation and positive expectation, affects outcomes in mice following AMI. We found that chemogenetic activation of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) significantly attenuated the remodeling process following AMI, resulting in improved left-ventricular performance compared to controls. VTA activation was associated with modulation of the immune response following AMI and increased blood vessel formation in the damaged area, mediated, at least in part, by changes in liver-secreted proteins. Together, our findings reveal a potential mechanism by which specific brain activity can affect the multifactorial systemic and local tissue response to AMI, introducing a novel target for therapeutic interventions