Astrocytes regulate memory circuits in collaboration with neurons, which could revolutionize our understanding of the brain and open new avenues for treating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and post-traumatic stress.
Laura Guio
November 09, 2024 | | Reading Time: 3 min
Astrocytes are glial cells found in the central nervous system, in the brain and spinal cord, and are star-shaped. They are the most abundant glial cells in mammals, constituting 25% of brain volume. Photo: Shutterstock.
A study published in Nature reveals that, in addition to the neuronslos astrocytes They play a key role in memory. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found that astrocytes They form networks that regulate memory circuits in collaboration with the neuronsespecially in the hippocampus.
This finding changes the traditional understanding of how memories are formed and retrieved, changes what was known until now about the formation of memories and perhaps about the approach to pathologies associated with memory loss, such as Alzheimer’s, or sleep disorder post-traumatic stress.
Investigation
Los researchers demonstrated that the activation of certain groups of astrocytesduring processes such as conditioned fear, can trigger the retrieval of memories.
This discovery expands the understanding of the neural plasticity and suggests that the astrocytes play an active role in the formation and retrieval of memories, which could have implications for treating memory-related disorders. memory.
Therefore, this led experts to assume that the possibility of actively participating in the formation and recovery of memory, in coordination with the neural ensembleswas a viable hypothesis.
Because of this, researchers developed laboratory tools to study the activity of astrocytes in brain circuits of the memory. In an experiment with mice, they conditioned the animals to feel fear in a specific situation, measuring their response by “freezing” (immobility and rigidity), to understand how the astrocytes influence the emotional memory.
Regulation of brain circuits: astrocytes key in memory
The researchers found that a subset of astrocytes expressed the gen c-Fos during fear conditioning in mice. By activating these astrocytes In a neutral environment, the “frozen” mice showed that the astrocytes were responsible for retrieving fear-related memories, even without direct stimuli.
This finding expands the traditional understanding of the memorywhich was thought to depend solely on the neuronsand suggests that the astrocytes They play a crucial role in the formation and retrieval of memories. Furthermore, it was identified gen NFIA as key in this process, which implies that specific subpopulations of astrocytes they could be associated with particular memories.
Los astrocytesstar-shaped cells and the most abundant in the brainwere for a long time considered simple nutritional supports for the neurons.
However, since the researcher Alfonso Araque suggested in 1998 his active participation in the regulation of synapsescience has revalued its role. In 2007, the theory of “tripartite synapse“confirmed its involvement in neuronal processes.
The latest study highlights the growing recognition of the astrocytesshowing its potential to control the processes of memory. Gertrudis Perea, from the Cajal-CSIC Institute, states that the astrocytes They crucially influence how we interact with the world, mediating the relationship between perception and memory.
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