ArticleAdvanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)2026
Midbrain PAG Astrocytes Modulate Mouse Defensive and Panic-Like Behaviors.
Article in Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Brain-Wide Connectivity and Topographic Organization of Leptin Receptor Neurons in the Dorsomedial Hypothalamus.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Article
- VlPAG/DRN Microglia Drive Neuropathic Pain-Induced Depression via a Defined Neuroimmune Axis.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Tail-rattling in rodents: more than a threat display.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Defensive behaviors against threatening situations are crucial for survival, and maladaptation of neural functions involved in defensive behavior may result in panic-like behavior. Defensive behaviors must be optimized for animals to efficiently avoid danger and maximize their chance of survival. The midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) controls defensive behaviors. However, the substrate of dysregulated panic-like defensive responses remains unknown. Using in vivo calcium imaging and recordings in mice, we found that PAG astrocytes are activated during threatening situations and trigger defensive behaviors. Using optogenetic astrocyte modulation and electrophysiological experiments, we provide evidence that PAG astrocyte activation and subsequent ATP release are required for optimal defensive behavior; aberrant activation of PAG astrocytes leads to maladaptive defensive behavior resembling panic-like behavior. Our results suggest that PAG astrocytes are neurobiological substrates underlying defensive dysregulation and might be an important cue in panic-related behaviors via increased calcium activity and ATP release.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.