Scientists have discovered specialized brains cells that appear to influence anxiety levels.
The research, published in science journal Neuron, found that scientists could control the activity of the brains cells of anxious mice.
The brain cells that were the source of the anxious behavior could be turned on and off.
It’s hoped the breakthrough could lead to more effective treatment for the approximately one-fifth of US adults who experience anxiety.
The team of researchers discovered the cells in the hippocampus, a part of the brain that’s linked to anxiety as well as navigation and memory.
The cells in the hippocampus communicate with another region of the brain, the hypothalamus, which tell the mice when to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.
The study involved studying mice in a maze and monitoring their brain activity as they moved from enclosed places to more open places.
The mice were put in a maze in which some of the pathways lead to open areas. Mice are usually afraid of open spaces and as they emerged into these areas, the scientists monitored the brain cells at the bottom of the hippocampus.
The study found part of the brain to be “enriched in anxiety cells” and that the hippocampus “can rapidly influence innate anxiety behavior.”
“What we found is that these cells became more active whenever the animal went into an area that elicits anxiety,” Mazen Kheirbek, a co-author of the study and an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco, told NPR.org
Kheirbek said the researchers were able to control the activity of the cells using the optogenetics technique, which uses light to control cells in living tissue.
When his team turned up the activity in the cells in the hippocampus, the mice became more anxious and did not want to explore.
“If we turn down this activity, will the animals become less anxious?” Kheirbek asked.
“And what we found was that they did become less anxious. They actually tended to want to explore the open arms of the maze even more.”
The researchers are hopeful these discoveries could lead to further breakthroughs.
“The therapies we have now have significant drawbacks,” Kheirbek said.
“This is another target that we can try to move the field forward for finding new therapies.”