'Anxiety cells' reside in the brain

New York, Feb 3: A team of US neuroscientists has identified “anxiety cells” in the brains of mice, an advance that may boost the treatment of humans suffering from anxiety disorders. The researchers found the cells inside a structure called the hippocampus, a region of the brain vital for learning and memory. But the cells probably exist in humans as well, said Rene Hen, Professor at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). These cells were found to fire when the animal is anxious, triggering anxiety-related behaviours. “We call these anxiety cells because they only fire when the animals are in places that are intely frightening to them,” Hen said. “For a mouse, that’s an open area where they’re more exposed to predators, or an elevated platform,” Hen added. The firing of the anxiety cells sends messages to other parts of the brain that turn on anxious behaviours, in mice, those include avoiding the dangerous area or fleeing to a safe zone. Though many other cells in the brain have been identified as playing a role in anxiety, the cells found in this study are the first known to represent the state of anxiety. (IANS)