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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Analyzing the Size, Shape, and Directionality of Networks of Coupled Astrocytes

Analyzing the Size, Shape, and Directionality of Networks of Coupled Astrocytes

Published on: October 4, 2018

Locally synchronized astrocytes.

Takuya Sasaki¹, Nahoko Kuga, Shigehiro Namiki

¹Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

|January 8, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers discovered that astrocytes form synchronized calcium activity groups, called clusters, which influence neuronal activity differently than single astrocyte events. These findings reveal new insights into astrocyte communication and brain function.

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Culturing In Vivo-like Murine Astrocytes Using the Fast, Simple, and Inexpensive AWESAM Protocol

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Culturing In Vivo-like Murine Astrocytes Using the Fast, Simple, and Inexpensive AWESAM Protocol

Culturing In Vivo-like Murine Astrocytes Using the Fast, Simple, and Inexpensive AWESAM Protocol

Published on: January 10, 2018

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cellular Biology
Glial Cell Biology

Background:

Astrocytes exhibit spontaneous calcium fluctuations, but their collective dynamics are poorly understood.
Large-scale recordings have not captured these astrocytic activities.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the collective dynamics of spontaneous astrocytic calcium activity.
To understand the role of astrocytic clusters in neuronal modulation.

Main Methods:

In situ and in vivo calcium imaging of hundreds of astrocytes in the mouse hippocampus and neocortex.
Analysis of synchronous calcium elevations and formation of astrocyte clusters.
Investigating the role of metabotropic glutamate receptors and neuronal activity.

Main Results:

Identified locally correlated astrocyte groups ('clusters') of 2-5 cells.
Cluster activity accounted for ~10% of astrocytic calcium events, with 44% appearing repetitively.
Astrocytic clusters, independent of neuronal activity, depolarized nearby neurons via non-NMDA receptors.
Single astrocyte activation did not depolarize neurons but elicited NMDA-dependent currents.

Conclusions:

Astrocytic clusters represent a novel form of ensemble dynamics not captured by small-scale imaging.
These cluster dynamics play a distinct role in neuronal modulation compared to single astrocyte activity.
Astrocytic clusters influence neuronal excitability through metabotropic glutamate receptor activation.