Increased anxiety in mice lacking vitamin D receptor gene

Vitamin D is a steroid hormonewith many important functions in the brain, mediated through the vitamin D nuclear receptor. Nu-merous human and animal data link vitamin D dysfunctions to var-ious behavioural disorders. To examine this problem, we studied whether genetic ablation of vitamin D receptors in mice may be associated with altered emotional behaviours.Here we show that the receptor-de¢cient mice demonstrate increased anxiety-like behaviourswhen subjected to a batteryof behavioural tests.These studies suggest that vitamin D and its receptors are an important factor in the brain, whose imbalance may signi¢cantly a¡ect emotional behaviour. NeuroReport15:1271^1274c 2004 Lippincot