Researchers have discovered that a small brain region known for regulating hunger, body temperature, and sleep plays a significant role in survival situations. 

A new study, published in the journal PLOS Biology, highlights the critical function of the hypothalamus in helping the brain switch between different survival behaviours such as hunting and escaping.

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor the brain activity of 21 participants engaged in a survival video game. 

The game required players to switch roles between hunter and hunted, providing a unique opportunity to observe how the human hypothalamus operates in real-time survival scenarios.

“Our study shows that the hypothalamus plays a key role in switching between survival behaviours such as hunting and escaping,” said the lead researchers, Jaejoong Kim and Dean Mobbs. 

“Using advanced imaging and computational modelling methods, we have demonstrated how the hypothalamus interacts with other brain regions to coordinate these survival strategies.”

The hypothalamus, a small region located at the base of the brain, is traditionally associated with regulating basic bodily functions. 

Previous animal studies suggested that this region is crucial for behaviour switching, but its role in humans remained unclear due to the challenges of studying such a small area with typical fMRI resolution.

In the study, researchers developed artificial intelligence-based approaches to enhance and analyse fMRI scans taken over four-hour periods. 

Participants controlled an avatar in the game, alternating between hunting prey and fleeing predators. 

By building a computational model, the researchers could distinguish the movement patterns characterising hunting from those associated with escaping.

The findings revealed that neural activity patterns in the hypothalamus and nearby brain regions linked with the hypothalamus were associated with behaviour switching. 

The strength of these neural signals could predict the participants' performance in the game. 

This neural activity was specific to survival behaviours, such as hunting and escaping, and did not generalise to other types of behaviour switching.

The study's results show the importance of the hypothalamus in coordinating survival responses - a function that offers clear evolutionary advantages. 

Understanding how this brain region works could have broader implications for understanding human behaviour and brain function in various contexts.

“Our research demonstrates the vital role of the human hypothalamus in switching between survival behaviours,” the researchers said. 

“This insight opens up new avenues for studying how the brain supports adaptive responses in challenging situations.”