Glia — more than just brain glue (original) (raw)

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• Published: 04 February 2009

Neuroscience

Nature volume 457, pages 675–677 (2009)Cite this article

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Glia make up most of the cells in the brain, yet until recently they were believed to have only a passive, supporting role. It is now becoming increasingly clear that these cells have other functions: they make crucial contributions to the formation, operation and adaptation of neural circuitry.

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Figure 1: Glia–neuron interactions.

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Figure 2: An astrocyte in action.

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Figure 3: A tripartite synapse.

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Further reading

1. Allen, N. J. & Barres, B. A. Signaling between glia and neurons: focus on synaptic plasticity. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 15, 542–548 (2005).
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2. Barres, B. A. The mystery and magic of glia: a perspective on their roles in health and disease. Neuron 60, 430–440 (2008).
   Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
3. Freeman, M. R. & Doherty, J. Glial cell biology in Drosophila and vertebrates. Trends Neurosci. 29, 82–90 (2006).
   Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
4. Haydon, P. G. & Carmignoto, G. Astrocyte control of synaptic transmission and neurovascular coupling. Physiol. Rev. 86, 1009–1031 (2006).
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5. Kettenmann, H. & Ransom, B. R. (eds) Neuroglia 2nd edn (Oxford Univ. Press, 2005).
6. Nave, K.-A. & Trapp, B. D. Axon–glial signaling and the glial support of axon function. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 31, 535–561 (2008).
   Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
7. Wang, D. D. & Bordey, A. The astrocyte odyssey. Prog. Neurobiol. 86, 342–367 (2008).
   CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Nicola J. Allen and Ben A. Barres are in the Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5125, USA. njallen@stanford.edu barres@stanford.edu,
   Nicola J. Allen & Ben A. Barres

Authors

1. Nicola J. Allen
2. Ben A. Barres

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Allen, N., Barres, B. Glia — more than just brain glue.Nature 457, 675–677 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/457675a

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• Published: 04 February 2009
• Issue date: 05 February 2009
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/457675a

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