Abstract
A major breakthrough in neuroscience has been the realization in the last decades that the dogmatic view of astroglial cells as being merely fostering and buffering elements of the nervous system is simplistic. A wealth of investigations now shows that astrocytes actually participate in the control of synaptic transmission in an active manner. This was first hinted by the intimate contacts glial processes make with neurons, particularly at the synaptic level, and evidenced using electrophysiological and calcium imaging techniques. Calcium imaging has provided critical evidence demonstrating that astrocytic regulation of synaptic efficacy is not a passive phenomenon. However, given that cellular activation is not only represented by calcium signaling, it is also crucial to assess concomitant mechanisms. We and others have used electrophysiological techniques to simultaneously record neuronal and astrocytic activity, thus enabling the study of multiple ionic currents and in depth investigation of neuro-glial dialogues. In the current review, we focus on the input such approach has provided in the understanding of astrocyte-neuron interactions underlying control of synaptic efficacy.
Highlights
Dynamic bidirectional communication between astrocytes and neurons is thought to contribute to brain information processing
We focus on how electrophysiological recordings have provided unique quantitative information about the membrane properties of astrocytes, and the active ionic neuroglial dialog involved in information processing
In the last decades, to unravel the neuroglial dialog engaged in processing brain information, the main focus of physiologists from the glia field has been Ca2+ signaling using imaging at the levels of astroglial microdomain, single cells and networks
Summary
Neuroglial Interactions in Cerebral Physiopathology, Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, CNRS UMR 7241, INSERM U1050, Collège de France, Paris, France. A wealth of investigations shows that astrocytes participate in the control of synaptic transmission in an active manner. This was first hinted by the intimate contacts glial processes make with neurons, at the synaptic level, and evidenced using electrophysiological and calcium imaging techniques. Calcium imaging has provided critical evidence demonstrating that astrocytic regulation of synaptic efficacy is not a passive phenomenon. We and others have used electrophysiological techniques to simultaneously record neuronal and astrocytic activity, enabling the study of multiple ionic currents and in depth investigation of neuro-glial dialogues. We focus on the input such approach has provided in the understanding of astrocyte-neuron interactions underlying control of synaptic efficacy
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