Glial cells in neuronal network function

Abstract

Numerous evidence demonstrates that astrocytes, a type of glial cell, are integral functional elements of the synapses, responding to neuronal activity and regulating synaptic transmission and plasticity. Consequently, they are actively involved in the processing, transfer and storage of information by the nervous system, which challenges the accepted paradigm that brain function results exclusively from neuronal network activity, and suggests that nervous system function actually arises from the activity of neuron-glia networks. Most of our knowledge of the properties and physiological consequences of the bidirectional communication between astrocytes and neurons resides at cellular and molecular levels. In contrast, much less is known at higher level of complexity, i.e. networks of cells, and the actual impact of astrocytes in the neuronal network function remains largely unexplored. In the present article, we summarize the current evidence that supports the notion that astrocytes are integral components of nervous system networks and we discuss some functional properties of intercellular signalling in neuron-glia networks.

Protictive effects of green tea and garlic on the morphological and oxidative stress changes of hippocampus in aged male and female albino rats

“…This supported by the finding of [27] they cleared the role of glia and astrocytes in the activity of the neuronal networks. They showed that the microglia are activated in many neurodegentative diseases, adding that whether they are helpful or harmful.…”

Single-neuron identification of chemical constituents, physiological changes, and metabolism using mass spectrometry

“…However, it should be noted that the concentrations of Glu and GABA, as neurotransmitters, are determined not only by their biosynthesis but also by their terminal release and uptake (45). The glial cells and the process of myelination may also change with age and influence the intracellular levels of transmitters (46,47). Therefore, further study of relationship between age and the GlnGlu-GABA biosynthetic pathway is needed.…”

Role of astrocytes in alterations of glutamatergic neurotransmission in schizophrenia

“…На современном этапе большинство авторов рассматри-вают информационный процессинг в мозге как функцию нейроглиальных сетей. Как сформулировали A. Araque и M. Navarrete [14], в этом случае используется как бинар-ное (потенциал действия нейронов), так и аналоговое (диффузное распространение медиаторов через контакты между астроцитами или через межклеточные простран-ства) кодирование сигнала.…”

“…Кальциевые волны распростра-няются на соседние астроциты благодаря связывающим их контактам указанного выше типа. Повышение концен-трации ионов кальция в астроцитах стимулирует в свою очередь высвобождение из них активных веществ -так называемых глиотрансмиттеров -таких как глутамат, D-серин и другие эндогенные лиганды рецепторов глута-мата, способные воздействовать на возбудимость нейро-нов и синаптическую передачу [14,17].…”