These overlooked brain cells may control fear and PTSD
Why it matters: This breakthrough could lead to entirely new treatments for anxiety-related disorders and PTSD by targeting astrocytes.
- Astrocytes, star-shaped brain cells, are now understood to be active participants in fear memory, not just support cells, according to research from the University of Arizona and the National Institutes of Health.
- Lindsay Halladay, assistant professor at the University of Arizona, highlights that astrocytes are interwoven among neurons and actively shape neural activity, particularly in the amygdala, a key region for fear processing.
- The study, published in Nature, demonstrated that astrocyte activity increases during the learning and recall of fear memories and declines as fears are extinguished, directly influencing the intensity of fear responses when their signals to neurons are altered.
- This multi-institutional project, led by Andrew Holmes and Olena Bukalo of the Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience at NIH, utilized fluorescent sensors in a mouse model to observe astrocyte activity in real time.
Overlooked brain cells called astrocytes, once considered mere support structures, are now revealed by University of Arizona and NIH researchers to be crucial in forming, recalling, and weakening fear memories, actively interacting with neurons in the amygdala. This groundbreaking discovery challenges neuron-centric views of fear processing and opens new avenues for treating anxiety-related disorders like PTSD.
