Glutamatergic Astrocytes – Newly Identified Cell Type Essential for Brain Function

Neuroscience is in a state of tremendous flux. Neurons and glial cells, the two main cell types that make up the brain, have a hybrid cell halfway between these two categories. For as long as neuroscience has existed, it has been recognized that the brain functions primarily through the neurons and their ability to rapidly…

Published

Astrocytes May Play Important Role in OCD

Astrocytes from the brain growing in a culture dish. Credit: John Bechberger, M.Sc., Christian Naus, Ph.D.

According to new UCLA Health research, astrocytes appear to play an important role in obsessive-compulsive disorder-related behaviours. Researchers were surprised by the new clue about the brain mechanisms underlying OCD, a disorder that is still poorly understood. They wanted to know how neurons interact with astrocytes, the star-shaped helper cells that support and protect neurons.…

Published

Brain’s Astrocytes Become Hyperactive During Social Isolation

Astrocytes from the brain growing in a culture dish. Credit: John Bechberger, M.Sc., Christian Naus, Ph.D.

Baylor College of Medicine researchers using animal models report that during social isolation, astrocytes become hyperactive, suppressing brain circuit function and memory formation. Importantly, inhibiting astrocyte hyperactivity reversed the cognitive deficits caused by social deprivation. Social isolation results in deficits in memory and learning and other behavioural alterations. Many brain studies have looked at how…

Published

Loss of Ezrin in Astrocytes Weakens Brain Signal Transmission

Astrocytes (green), in a mouse brain. Credit: NICHD CC-BY

Astrocytes are star-shaped brain cells that play an important role in maintaining the blood-brain barrier, supplying nutrients to nerve cells, and removing metabolic waste. They account for more than half of glial cells, the brain’s supporting cells that were previously thought to be nothing more than “glue” holding nerve cells together. But this view has…

Published

Astrocytes Play Key Role in Spatial Learning Control

Astrocytes from the brain growing in a culture dish. Credit: John Bechberger, M.Sc., Christian Naus, Ph.D.

Glial cells insulate nerve cell “wiring” or provide optimal working conditions for them. A new study led by the University of Bonn has discovered another function in rodents: the findings suggest that a specific type of glial cell is important in spatial learning. Each place in our world has its own unique features that make…

Published

Hippocampal Astrocytes Help Regulate Cognitive Flexibility Via NMDA Receptor Tone

The ability of astrocytes to simultaneously regulate and integrate synaptic plasticity of nearby synapses is important for facilitating cognitive flexibility, researchers in South Korea report. It is thought that lower cognitive flexibility in brain disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and early stages of Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the reduced function of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs).…

Published

Astrocytes Have Unexpected Role In Synaptic Plasticity

Astrocytes help to enable the brain’s plasticity, a new role for astrocytes that was not previously known, a team from the Salk Institute has shown. The findings could point to ways to restore connections that have been lost due to aging or trauma. When we’re born, our brains have a great deal of flexibility. Having…

Published

Mediators For The Microglial Control Of Astrocytes Identified

A pathway that may help guide therapies for multiple sclerosis and other neurologic diseases is detailed in a new paper from Brigham and Women’s Hospital investigators. The work sheds new light on the connection between the gut and the brain, untangling the complex interplay that allows the byproducts of microorganisms living in the gut to…

Published

P2Y1 Astrocyte Finding Points To New Approach Against Alzheimer’s

Blocking the P2Y1 receptor on astrocytes normalized brain function and improved memory performance in studies with mice, a study by scientists of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) reports. The finding points to a potential approach against Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is an incurable brain disorder leading to dementia. its mechanisms remain incompletely understood.…

Published