Microglia regulate nucleus accumbens synaptic development and circuit function underlying threat avoidance behaviors.

ABSTRACT: While CNS microglia have well-established roles in synapse pruning during neurodevelopment, only a few studies have identified roles for microglia in synapse formation. These studies focused on the cortex and primary sensory circuits during restricted developmental time periods, leaving substantial gaps in our understanding of the early developmental functions of microglia. Here we investigated how the absence of microglia impacts synaptic development in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a region critical for emotional regulation and motivated behaviors and where dysfunction is implicated in psychiatric disorders that arise early in life. Using a genetically modified mouse that lacks microglia (Csf1r ^{ΔFIRE/ΔFIRE}), we found blunted excitatory synapse formation in the NAc. This

SUBMITTER: Gongwer MW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11761117 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature