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Updated: Oct 24, 2025
11:25
Isolation and Culture of Mouse Cortical Astrocytes
Published on: January 19, 2013
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Homeostatic Regulation of Astrocytes by Visual Experience in the Developing Primary Visual Cortex
Liang-Liang Wang1, Dan Xu1, Yujian Luo1
1Department of Neurology of the First Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310027, China.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|August 16, 2021
Summary
Astrocytes in the visual cortex adapt to sensory input. Long-term visual deprivation alters astrocyte density and connections, suggesting homeostatic plasticity in these critical brain cells.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Sensory experience is crucial for shaping brain circuits during development.
- Astrocytes, once considered passive support cells, are increasingly recognized for their active role in neural circuit organization.
- The response of astrocytes to sensory experience during postnatal development remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the maturation and plasticity of astrocytes in the primary visual cortex (V1) during postnatal development.
- To determine how different types of visual experience affect astrocyte anatomy and physiology.
- To elucidate the role of astrocytes in experience-dependent cortical circuit refinement.
Main Methods:
- Profiling astrocyte maturation across different postnatal stages in V1.
- Inducing visual experience manipulations (monocular and binocular deprivation) during the critical period.
- Analyzing anatomical changes (astrocyte density) and physiological coupling (gap junctions) in V1 astrocytes.
Main Results:
- Binocular deprivation had a more pronounced effect on reactive astrocytes in V1 than monocular deprivation.
- Long-term binocular deprivation led to a reduction in reactive astrocyte density in V1 layer 2/3.
- Simultaneously, long-term binocular deprivation strengthened gap junction coupling between astrocytes.
Conclusions:
- Cortical astrocytes exhibit homeostatic plasticity in response to prolonged sensory input alterations.
- Astrocyte plasticity may collaborate with neuronal plasticity to refine cortical circuits during postnatal development.
- These findings highlight astrocytes as key players in experience-dependent brain development.
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