Calcium Sparks in Brain's Immune Cells Fuel Anxiety and Compulsive Grooming

University of Louisville researchers reveal that calcium signaling within Hoxb8 microglia, a brain immune cell type, acts as a switch for anxiety and compulsive grooming in mice. Artificially increasing calcium triggers these behaviors, while blocking calcium entry prevents them, implicating microglial calcium homeostasis as a potential target for neuropsychiatric conditions such as autism and OCD.