Chapter title |
Pharmacological Tools to Study the Role of Astrocytes in Neural Network Functions
|
---|---|
Chapter number | 3 |
Book title |
Glial Cells in Health and Disease of the CNS
|
Published in |
Advances in experimental medicine and biology, January 2016
|
DOI | 10.1007/978-3-319-40764-7_3 |
Pubmed ID | |
Book ISBNs |
978-3-31-940762-3, 978-3-31-940764-7
|
Authors |
Fernando Peña-Ortega, Ana Julia Rivera-Angulo, Jonathan Julio Lorea-Hernández, Peña-Ortega, Fernando, Rivera-Angulo, Ana Julia, Lorea-Hernández, Jonathan Julio |
Abstract |
Despite that astrocytes and microglia do not communicate by electrical impulses, they can efficiently communicate among them, with each other and with neurons, to participate in complex neural functions requiring broad cell-communication and long-lasting regulation of brain function. Glial cells express many receptors in common with neurons; secrete gliotransmitters as well as neurotrophic and neuroinflammatory factors, which allow them to modulate synaptic transmission and neural excitability. All these properties allow glial cells to influence the activity of neuronal networks. Thus, the incorporation of glial cell function into the understanding of nervous system dynamics will provide a more accurate view of brain function. Our current knowledge of glial cell biology is providing us with experimental tools to explore their participation in neural network modulation. In this chapter, we review some of the classical, as well as some recent, pharmacological tools developed for the study of astrocyte's influence in neural function. We also provide some examples of the use of these pharmacological agents to understand the role of astrocytes in neural network function and dysfunction. |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 25 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
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Researcher | 6 | 24% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 4 | 16% |
Other | 2 | 8% |
Professor | 1 | 4% |
Professor > Associate Professor | 1 | 4% |
Other | 2 | 8% |
Unknown | 9 | 36% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Neuroscience | 8 | 32% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 3 | 12% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 2 | 8% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 1 | 4% |
Chemistry | 1 | 4% |
Other | 0 | 0% |
Unknown | 10 | 40% |