Spontaneous astrocytic Ca2+ oscillations in situ drive NMDAR-mediated neuronal excitation - PubMed (original) (raw)

Spontaneous astrocytic Ca2+ oscillations in situ drive NMDAR-mediated neuronal excitation

H R Parri et al. Nat Neurosci. 2001 Aug.

Abstract

Astrocytes respond to chemical, electrical and mechanical stimuli with transient increases in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). We now show that astrocytes in situ display intrinsic [Ca2+]i oscillations that are not driven by neuronal activity. These spontaneous astrocytic oscillations can propagate as waves to neighboring astrocytes and trigger slowly decaying NMDA receptor-mediated inward currents in neurons located along the wave path. These findings show that astrocytes in situ can act as a primary source for generating neuronal activity in the mammalian central nervous system.

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