Abstract
Editorial: The role of glia in plasticity and behavior.
Highlights
New genetic tools have advanced our understanding of how neurons contribute to plasticity and behavior, and unveiled glial cells as active participants in circuit function as highlighted in this Research Topic
Glial cells signaling via gap junctions may even have evolved convergently during evolution suggesting that spreading activity via such cellular networks is a fundamental process (Stout et al, 2014)
In more complex mammalian brains, glia respond to a variety of neurotransmitters and could be instrumental for gauging metabolic demand in times of increased vigilance -a behavioral state mediated by adrenoreceptors (Ding et al, 2013)- across brain regions (Paukert et al, 2014; De Zeeuw and Hoogland, 2015)
Summary
New genetic tools have advanced our understanding of how neurons contribute to plasticity and behavior, and unveiled glial cells as active participants in circuit function as highlighted in this Research Topic. Pankratov and Lalo (2015) present data suggesting that the activation of astroglial α1-adrenergic receptors and subsequent exocytotic release of ATP from these glial cells are important for the induction of long-term potentiation in neocortical neurons.
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