It may seem like an unlikely connection, but an aversion to kitty litter has led to a very interesting discovery about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that could one day lead to a diagnostic test and perhaps even a drug therapy, according a Los Angeles Times piece about research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Researchers including Nikolaos Daskalakis, MD, PhD, a neuroendocrinologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, introduced rats to some used cat litter, which was enough to signal threat even though no felines were present. Some of these rodents were affected a lot more strongly than others and took to a corner while others explored a maze. After screening the blood and brains of rats suspected to have PTSD, researchers were able to pinpoint a target of interest: glucocorticoid receptor signaling. Initial findings indicate that injections of corticosterone could be a possible PTSD therapy.