I read an interesting article recently in new scientist saying that astrocytes are responsible for sleep. Astrocytes are one of the neuroglial cells of the central nervous system. Neuroglial cells area like a connective tissue cellular network and support structure for the brain. They make up half the number of cells in the brain. The two most numerous are oligodendrocytes which myelinate axons, and astrocytes. Astrocytes play a key role by providing neurons with nutrients and aiding cell repair. Researchers in Italy have discovered astrocytes produce adenosine which switch neurons off creating sleep. One of the researchers said that astrocytes communicate slowly and on larger spatial scales than neurons, having a more global influence on the brain. So basically astrocytes look after neurons: feeding them, repairing them and putting them to sleep. Plus they look really amazing, literally like stars.
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November 9, 2010 at 6:30 am
Jason Lambert
Amazing…. Astrocytes, love the name …. Many thanks
November 11, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Katherine Riggs
Thanks for that. More interesting stuff on glial signalling just out here:
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101110/full/468160a.html
November 12, 2010 at 10:57 am
Ged Sumner
hi katherine, that was a good article from Nature. i really like the way they wonder if astrocytes are doing something quite different from neurons. liked the way they respond to only subtle stimuli plus move at such a different timescale. Makes you feel like they are part of our mind, and its not just all about neurons which is quite a relief really.
November 12, 2010 at 11:20 am
Katherine Riggs
Glad you liked it. I particularly like the bit where they talk about needing to learn a new language to “talk” to astrocytes:
“if you blast them with something, they do nothing; if you don’t stimulate them at all, they do nothing. But ‘talk’ to them using a low level of physiologically relevant stimulation and they should talk back”
What does that remind you of? 😉
November 11, 2010 at 10:00 pm
Steve Haines
Good article from Nature – I never realised that astrocytes interact with the synapses – there is a really great picture of the ‘tripartite synapse’. ‘If glia are involved in signalling, processing in the brain turns out to be an order of magnitude more complex than previously expected’. Thanks for that
Steve
September 10, 2014 at 8:27 am
jaqcraniosacralie
Thankyou Ged for putting the research into nice easy language. Astrocytes definitely look like stars.
What is your reference for the research?