User:Alberttjin/sandbox

Furthermore, animal studies have shown that chronic stress can actually cause certain degrees of brain inflammation. Specifically, one study indicated that chronic stress, on a cellular level, caused a large increase in the density of Iba1 immunolabeling and the number of Iba1-positive cells. The study also concluded that chronic stress caused a transition of microglia from resting to a non-resting state. Since microglia tend to respond to "danger" signals, thus releasing pro-inflammatory molecules, the prolonged activation of these cells can be dangerous and a cause of brain inflammation. In addition, chronic stress has been shown to cause a strong increase in the number of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus, cortex, hypothalamus, and spleen in animal studies.