Your anxiety may be controlled by hidden immune cells in the brain

Originally published by University of Utah Health, on November 13, 2025

Researchers have uncovered surprising evidence that anxiety may be controlled not by neurons but by two dueling groups of immune cells inside the brain. These microglia act like biological pedals—one pushing anxiety forward and the other holding it back.

Two opposing groups of brain-immune cells were found to dramatically influence anxiety by either amplifying or reducing anxious behaviors. The discovery could shift future psychiatric treatments toward targeting microglia. Credit: Shutterstock

Anxiety disorders affect roughly one in five people in the United States, making them among the most widespread mental health challenges. Although common, scientists still have many questions about how anxiety begins and is controlled within the brain. New research from the University of Utah has now pinpointed two unexpected groups of brain cells in mice that behave like "accelerators" and "brakes" for anxious behavior.

The team discovered that the cells responsible for adjusting anxiety levels are not neurons, which typically relay long-distance electrical signals and form circuits throughout the body. Instead, a specific class of immune cells known as microglia appears to play a central role in determining whether mice show anxious behavior. One subset of microglia increases anxiety responses, while another reduces them.

"This is a paradigm shift," says Donn Van Deren, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania who carried out the work while at University of Utah Health. "It shows that when the brain's immune system has a defect and is not healthy, it can result in very specific neuropsychiatric disorders."

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