Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Imaging Intracellular Ca2+ Signals in Striatal Astrocytes from Adult Mice Using Genetically-encoded Calcium Indicators
Published on: November 19, 2014
Spontaneous calcium signals induced by gap junctions in a network model of astrocytes
1Institute of Applied Physics of Russian Academy of Science, 46 Uljanov Strasse, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. vkazan@neuron.appl.sci-nnov.ru
Abstract:
The dynamics of a network model of astrocytes coupled by gap junctions is investigated. Calcium dynamics of the single cell is described by the biophysical model comprising the set of three nonlinear differential equations. Intercellular dynamics is provided by the diffusion of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) through gap junctions between neighboring astrocytes. It is found that the diffusion induces the appearance of spontaneous activity patterns in the network. Stability of the network steady state is analyzed. It is proved that the increase of the diffusion coefficient above a certain critical value yields the generation of low-amplitude subthreshold oscillatory signals in a certain frequency range. It is shown that such spontaneous oscillations can facilitate calcium pulse generation and provide a certain time scale in astrocyte signaling.
Related Concept Videos
Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...
Gap Junctions
Gap Junctions
Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
Calmodulin-dependent Signaling
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
Contact-dependent Signaling
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...

