Overview
- Researchers at King’s College London and the University of Porto released an atlas of brain histamine signaling in Nature Mental Health.
- The team integrated genetic data, single‑cell profiles, MRI databases, and PET imaging to chart where histamine acts and how strongly regions may respond.
- Single‑cell results showed H1 and H2 receptors in excitatory neurons and H3 in inhibitory cells, pointing to a role in balancing neural activity.
- Areas with higher histamine‑related gene activity aligned with functions such as emotion, decision‑making, sleep, and memory and overlapped with regions implicated in ADHD, depression, schizophrenia, and anorexia.
- Authors stressed the findings are correlational and outlined next steps such as PET scans, pharmacological probes, and longitudinal studies, including an H3 PET project in Huntington’s disease funded through NIHR Maudsley support.