CX3CL1 and Anxiety: Specifically, the role for CX3CL1 in control of hippocampus and Raphe activity suggests that infection-, inflammation-, and/or chronic disease-associated increases in the chemokine could contribute to reduced hippocampal and Raphe output, alterations that could, in turn, precipitate depressed mood and heightened anxiety among other disorders of brain function (Meltzer, 1990; Bast, 2011; Small et al., 2011).