Stroke is a major cause of disability. Astrocytes respond to stroke in a gradated manner, but details of that response and its consequences for tissue…

Anthony Flamier, Ciaran Murphy-Royal et Éric Samarut figurent parmi les futurs chefs de file de la recherche canadienne sur le cerveau, soutenus par la Fondation Brain Canada.

Brain Canada is pleased to announce the latest cohort of Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research (Future Leaders). This flagship program provides vital funding to early-career scientists whose bold ...

Background A dearth of laboratory tests to study actual human approach-avoidance behavior has complicated translational research on anxiety. The elevated plus-maze (EPM) is the gold standard to assess approach-avoidance behavior in rodents. Methods Here, we translated the EPM to humans using mixed reality through a combination of virtual and real-world elements. In two validation studies, we observed participants’ anxiety on a behavioral, physiological, and subjective level. Results Participants reported higher anxiety on open arms, avoided open arms, and showed an activation of endogenous stress systems. Participants’ with high anxiety exhibited higher avoidance. Moreover, open arm avoidance was moderately predicted by participants’ acrophobia and sensation seeking, with opposing influences. In a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled experiment, GABAergic stimulation decreased avoidance of open arms while alpha-2-adrenergic antagonism increased avoidance. Conclusion These findings demonstrate cross-species validity of open arm avoidance as a translational measure of anxiety. We thus introduce the first ecologically valid assay to track actual human approach-avoidance behavior under laboratory conditions.

Astrocytes are a brain cell type vulnerable to the effects of stress and the development of psychiatric-like phenotypes in animals, yet how this translates to humans is unclear. Here, we probed the di...

In this review, Khakh discusses the mechanisms, physiology, and pathophysiological relevance of astrocyte-neuron interactions across biological scales from molecules to whole organisms. By highlightin...