A Newly Identified Immune Cell Population Controls Anxiety Related Neural Pathways
Rahul Hajare
ABSTRACT
Anxiety disorders affect roughly one in five people in the United States, making them among the most widespread mental health challenges. Although common, scientists still have many questions about how anxiety begins and is controlled within the brain. New research has now pinpointed two unexpected groups of brain cells in mice that behave like "accelerators" and "brakes" for anxious behavior. The team discovered that the cells responsible for adjusting anxiety levels are not neurons, which typically relay long distance electrical signals and form circuits throughout the body. Instead, a specific class of immune cells known as microglia appears to play a central role in determining whether mice show anxious behavior.
