Here is an important reason to stay in touch with friends and family: social isolation causes memory and learning deficits and other behavioral changes. Many brain studies have focused on the effects ...

Astrocytes are integral constituents of the central nervous system, serving roles that extend far beyond mere structural support. These specialised glial cells are crucial for maintaining homeostasis, ...

To enjoy the scent of morning coffee and freshly baked cookies or to perceive the warning smell of something burning, the brain needs two types of cells, neurons and astrocytes, to work closely with ...

Fatty diets and obesity affect the structure and function of astrocytes, the star-shaped brain cells located in the striatum, a brain region involved in the perception of pleasure generated by food ...

Silent cells deep in your spinal cord may hold a surprising key to healing after devastating injuries and brain disease. A ...

The potential effects of astrocyte dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases are summarized in Figure 2. AD is characterized clinically by cognitive loss in two or more domains, including memory, ...

From steering a car to swinging a tennis racket, we learn to execute all kinds of skilled movements during our lives. You might think this learning is only implemented by neurons, but a new study by ...

Researchers have uncovered novel aspects of astrocyte function in olfactory, or smell, perception revealing changes in their gene expression patterns that turn these brain cells into a hub of ...

In animal models, social isolation triggers memory and learning deficits that are mediated by hyperactivity of the most abundant brain cell, the astrocyte. Importantly, inhibiting this hyperactivity ...