31 July 2026
Specialized immune cells found in the brain, known as microglia, reach out to neurons in female mice that were given a dose of ketamine anaesthetic.
Immune cells called microglia play a part in the recovery of female mice from ketamine anaesthesia. Credit: Jose Calvo/Science Photo Library
The drug ketamine induces unconsciousness, making it useful as an anaesthetic. Now, research1 in mice shows that recovery from the drug seems to involve microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, remodelling connections between neurons — but only in female animals.
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