Nature · 5 August 2026 · From issue 17
In mice, fixing shrunken cell antennas in the brain's fear center eased stress behaviors.
Sara G. Pelaz, Katsukuni Mitsui et al., Amygdala astrocyte primary cilium mechanisms contribute to stress behaviours, Nature.
Brain support cells called astrocytes have tiny hair-like antennas called primary cilia. In stressed mice, these antennas shrink inside a brain area called the amygdala, which controls fear and emotion. Fixing these antennas with a targeted drug signal restored their length and improved stress-related behaviors. Similar antenna genes were active in human amygdala astrocytes, and some were disrupted in people with stress-related brain disorders.
Shows a possible new brain target for stress disorders, tested only in mice so far.
Mice only, no human treatment tested yet.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 17 August 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Nature). Read the source
This screen checks process signals. It does not tell you the findings are true.