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Updated: Sep 14, 2025
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Dual Electrophysiological Recordings of Synaptically-evoked Astroglial and Neuronal Responses in Acute Hippocampal Slices
Published on: November 26, 2012
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Calcium dynamics in habenular astrocytes regulate active coping within behavioral transitions
Léo Michel1, Denys Osypenko1, Patricia Molina1
1The Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, The University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Communications Biology
|July 22, 2025
Summary
Astrocytes in the brain
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Behavioral responses involve shifts between active and passive coping strategies to manage energy.
- The lateral habenula (LHb) is implicated in aversion and behavioral state transitions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of astrocytes in regulating behavioral coping strategies.
- To determine if astrocyte calcium signaling in the LHb influences active coping.
Main Methods:
- Disruption of astrocyte calcium signaling in the mouse lateral habenula (LHb).
- Calcium imaging in astrocytes of mice and zebrafish.
- Presynaptic tracing techniques to map neuronal circuits.
Main Results:
- Disrupting LHb astrocyte calcium signaling prolonged active coping behaviors.
- Elevated astrocyte calcium signals were observed in the habenula of both mice and zebrafish during active coping.
- Astrocytes were integrated into aversion-related neuronal circuits.
Conclusions:
- Astrocyte calcium signaling in the LHb is crucial for regulating transitions between active and passive coping.
- Astrocytes play a computational role in behavior across species.
- These findings highlight astrocytes as key regulators of behavioral states.
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