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New Tools to Study Astrocyte Ca2+ Signal Dynamics in Brain Networks In Vivo
- Source :
- Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, Vol 11 (2017)
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Frontiers Media S.A., 2017.
-
Abstract
- Sensory information processing is a fundamental operation in the brain that is based on dynamic interactions between different neuronal populations. Astrocytes, a type of glial cells, have been proposed to represent active elements of brain microcircuits that, through dynamic interactions with neurons, provide a modulatory control of neuronal network activity. Specifically, astrocytes in different brain regions have been described to respond to neuronal signals with intracellular Ca2+ elevations that represent a key step in the functional recruitment of astrocytes to specific brain circuits. Accumulating evidence shows that Ca2+ elevations regulate the release of gliotransmitters that, in turn, modulate synaptic transmission and neuronal excitability. Recent studies also provided new insights into the spatial and temporal features of astrocytic Ca2+ elevations revealing a surprising complexity of Ca2+ signal dynamics in astrocytes. Here we discuss how recently developed experimental tools such as the genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators (GECI), optogenetics and chemogenetics can be applied to the study of astrocytic Ca2+ signals in the living brain.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 16625102
- Volume :
- 11
- Database :
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Journal :
- Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- edsdoj.85d2848c3bd4c459d13ebd16e0798e3
- Document Type :
- article
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2017.00134