A team of experts at the Riken research institute have made a discovery on how astrocytes facilitate synaptic activity associated with learning and memory formation.
The study involved the use of numerous interventions to meddle with NMDA receptor activity in mouse astrocytes, a population of cells found within the brain.
The research had been publicized in eLife.
“NMDA is a well-established component of neuronal signaling in the hippocampus. But the idea of astrocyte NMDA receptors has met with some skepticism,” according to the study’s authors.
“Our work demonstrates that astrocyte signaling helps ensure the broad distribution of presynaptic strengths,” the authors asserted.
