Axonal dispatch of iron in neuronal signaling

The regulation of brain iron homeostasis, previously thought to be cell autonomous and modulated by local factors in the interstitial fluid, is reported by Wang et al. to be strongly influenced by axonal transport of iron in an activity-dependent and unidirectional manner between functionally associated regions. The supply of iron from the ventral hippocampus to the middle prefrontal cortex subserved an anxiolytic phenotype and mediated the neuropharmacological actions of diazepam and lithium chloride in rodent models.