Aging lowers motivation by reducing brain growth factor in the brain’s reward area

Aging-related loss of Bdnf in the ventral tegmental area may contribute to reduced motivation in mice.

This was a mouse-model study comparing young, old, and socially isolated mice, with VTA-specific Bdnf knockdown in young mice used to test whether reduced Bdnf recapitulates aging-associated motivational decline.

The evidence is limited to mouse behavioral and gene-expression models and does not establish effects on human aging or neuropsychiatric disorders.