Potassium signalling in the brain: its role in behaviour

Abstract

This paper examines evidence that glial cells respond to changes in extracellular potassium ([K +] e) in ways that contribute to modulation of neuronal activity and thereby behaviour. Glial cells spatially (and probably directionally) redistribute potassium from regions of increasing concentration to those with a lesser concentration. This redistribution is largely responsible for slow potential shifts associated with behavioural responses of animals. These slow shifts are related in amplitude to the level of ‘arousal’ of an animal, and its motivational state. In addition, glia, especially astrocytes, respond to changes in [K +] e, the presence of transmitters like nor-adrenaline and glutamate and at least some hormones with changes in their metabolism and/or the morphological characteristics of the cell. The ionic, metabolic and morphological responses of glia to changes in extracellular potassium after neuronal activity have been associated with at least some forms of learning, including habituation, one trial passive avoidance learning and changes associated with enriched environments. The implication of these effects of potassium signalling in the brain is that there is considerable involvement of glia in a number of processes crucial to neuronal activity. Glia may also form another route for information distribution in the brain that is at least bi-directional, though less specific than its neuronal counterparts. It is evident that the Neuroscience of the future will have to incorporate much more study of neuron-glial interactions than hitherto.