ArticleNeuron2019
Microglial Phagocytosis of Newborn Cells Is Induced by Endocannabinoids and Sculpts Sex Differences in Juvenile Rat Social Play.
Article in Neuron, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 154 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
154 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 297 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- RNA sequence analysis reveals ITGAL/CD11A as a stromal regulator of murine low-grade glioma growth.Neuro-oncology · 2022Pooled it
- Sickness and the Social Brain: Love in the Time of COVID.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Neonatal estradiol influences regional gene expression for early sex-specific inflammatory responses in the 5xFAD mouse model.Biology of sex differences · 2026Article
- A "personality test" for rats reveals subtle but distinct effects of sex and early life inflammation on brain and behavior.Behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
- Captopril restores microglial homeostasis and reverses ASD-like phenotype in a model of ASD induced by exposure in utero to anti-caspr2 IgG.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Partner Choice and Context-Dependent Sex Differences in Rat Rough-and-Tumble Play.The European journal of neuroscience · 2026Article
- Sex differences in microglia morphology and function across the lifespan are mediated by the early hormone environment.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2026Article
- Phosphatidylserine exposure by developing astrocytes initiates microglia-mediated developmental cell death.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Microglial low-affinity FcγR mediates the phagocytic elimination of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease degeneration.NPJ Parkinson's disease · 2026Article
- "Stand by me": astrocyte-microglia crosstalk in central nervous system development, homeostasis, injury, and disease.Frontiers in network physiology · 2026Review
- Microglial activity during postnatal development is required for infantile amnesia in mice.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Sexual Dimorphisms in Neurodevelopment May Affect TBI Recovery in Pediatric Patients.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Microglial plasticity across development mediates infantile amnesia.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Early Life Injury Alters Spinal Astrocyte Development.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Article
- Timing matters: modeling the effects of gestational cannabis exposure on social behavior and microglia in the developing amygdala.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Protects Cognitive Impairment in i.c.v. STZ-Injected Rats: Role of Adult Neurogenesis.The European journal of neuroscience · 2025Article
- Knockout of P2Y12 receptor facilitates neuronal envelopment by reactive microglia and accelerates prion disease.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Article
- Article
- The role of neonatal kisspeptin in long-term social behavior in mammals.Communications biology · 2025Article
94 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Brain sex differences are established developmentally and generate enduring changes in circuitry and behavior. Steroid-mediated masculinization of the rat amygdala during perinatal development produces higher levels of juvenile rough-and-tumble play by males. This sex difference in social play is highly conserved across mammals, yet the mechanisms by which it is established are unknown. Here, we report that androgen-induced increases in endocannabinoid tone promote microglia phagocytosis during a critical period of amygdala development. Phagocytic microglia engulf more viable newborn cells in males; in females, less phagocytosis allows more astrocytes to survive to the juvenile age. Blocking complement-dependent phagocytosis in males increases astrocyte survival and prevents masculinization of play. Moreover, increased astrocyte density in the juvenile amygdala reduces neuronal excitation during play. These findings highlight novel mechanisms of brain development whereby endocannabinoids induce microglia phagocytosis to regulate newborn astrocyte number and shape the sexual differentiation of social circuitry and behavior. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
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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 OpenQuestion graph.