TY - JOUR
T1 - Calcium signaling in astrocytes and gliotransmitter release
AU - Goenaga, Julianna
AU - Araque, Alfonso
AU - Kofuji, Paulo
AU - Herrera Moro Chao, Daniela
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 Goenaga, Araque, Kofuji and Herrera Moro Chao.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Glia are as numerous in the brain as neurons and widely known to serve supportive roles such as structural scaffolding, extracellular ionic and neurotransmitter homeostasis, and metabolic support. However, over the past two decades, several lines of evidence indicate that astrocytes, which are a type of glia, play active roles in neural information processing. Astrocytes, although not electrically active, can exhibit a form of excitability by dynamic changes in intracellular calcium levels. They sense synaptic activity and release neuroactive substances, named gliotransmitters, that modulate neuronal activity and synaptic transmission in several brain areas, thus impacting animal behavior. This “dialogue” between astrocytes and neurons is embodied in the concept of the tripartite synapse that includes astrocytes as integral elements of synaptic function. Here, we review the recent work and discuss how astrocytes via calcium-mediated excitability modulate synaptic information processing at various spatial and time scales.
AB - Glia are as numerous in the brain as neurons and widely known to serve supportive roles such as structural scaffolding, extracellular ionic and neurotransmitter homeostasis, and metabolic support. However, over the past two decades, several lines of evidence indicate that astrocytes, which are a type of glia, play active roles in neural information processing. Astrocytes, although not electrically active, can exhibit a form of excitability by dynamic changes in intracellular calcium levels. They sense synaptic activity and release neuroactive substances, named gliotransmitters, that modulate neuronal activity and synaptic transmission in several brain areas, thus impacting animal behavior. This “dialogue” between astrocytes and neurons is embodied in the concept of the tripartite synapse that includes astrocytes as integral elements of synaptic function. Here, we review the recent work and discuss how astrocytes via calcium-mediated excitability modulate synaptic information processing at various spatial and time scales.
KW - astrocyte
KW - calcium signaling
KW - gliotransmission
KW - plasticity
KW - tripartite synapse
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85150196185&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.3389/fnsyn.2023.1138577
DO - 10.3389/fnsyn.2023.1138577
M3 - Review article
C2 - 36937570
AN - SCOPUS:85150196185
SN - 1663-3563
VL - 15
JO - Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience
JF - Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience
M1 - 1138577
ER -