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Updated: Mar 27, 2026

A Cell Culture Model for Studying the Role of Neuron-Glia Interactions in Ischemia
Published on: November 14, 2020
Astrocytic role in synapse formation after injury
Ying Li1, Daqing Li1, Geoffrey Raisman1
1Spinal Repair Unit, Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
In 1969 a paper entitled Neuronal plasticity in the septal nuclei of the adult rat proposed that new synapses are formed in the adult brain after injury (Raisman, 1969). The quantitative electron microscopic study of the timed responses to selective partial denervation of the neuropil of the adult rat septal nuclei after distant transection of the hippocampal efferent axons in the fimbria showed that the new synapses arise by sprouting of surviving adjacent synapses which selectively take over the previously denervated sites and thus restore the number of synapses to normal. This article presents the evidence for the role of perisynaptic astrocytic processes in the removal and formation of synapses and considers its significance as one of the three major divisions of the astrocytic surface in terms of the axonal responses to injury and regeneration. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI:50th Anniversary Issue.
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