Data from Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Advance Knowledge in Biology (Novel microglial transcriptional signatures promote social and cognitive deficits following repeated social defeat).

A recent study conducted at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has found that chronic stress is associated with anxiety and cognitive impairment. The researchers used single-cell RNA sequencing to identify stress-associated microglia in the hippocampus, which play a role in modulating physiological and behavioral responses to stress. Depletion of microglia attenuated the stress-associated profile of other cells in the brain and also reduced social withdrawal and cognitive impairment. The study suggests that these stress-associated microglia influence transcriptional profiles in the hippocampus related to social and cognitive deficits. [Extracted from the article]