The neural hyperactivity linked to the agitation and delirium some patients experience when emerging from anesthesia appears to be caused by microglial activity, according to a study published in Nature Neuroscience. The findings point to an unexpected role for these immune cells—often called the “janitors” of the central nervous system—in regulating neural activity.
Lead investigator Long-Jun Wu, PhD, who conducted the study at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said the