Hyperactivation of Sympathetic Nerves Drives Depletion of Melanocyte Stem Cells

In 2020, Zhang B and colleagues conducted a study, published in Nature, investigating the scientific link between stress and hair graying. The researchers found that various types of stress led to hair graying in mice. The mechanism behind this was found to be the hyperactivation of the sympathetic nervous system, which resulted in the stimulation of melanocyte stem cells by norepinephrine. This stimulation caused these stem cells to proliferate, differentiate, and eventually deplete, leading to hair graying. The study was praised for its well-designed experiments and significant findings.