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 ...

Recent work has revealed some of the many crucial functions of astrocytes, brain cells that were once thought to play primarily supportive roles for neurons. Astrocytes do handle debris around neurons ...

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 ...

New experiments reveal how astrocytes tune neuronal activity to modulate our mental and emotional states. The results suggest ...

Glial cells are an integral part of the human nervous system. They help support and nourish nerve cells, or neurons. Several types of glial cells exist. Glial cells are the “glue” of the nervous ...

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have discovered a natural mechanism that clears existing amyloid plaques in the brains of mouse models of Alzheimer's disease and preserves cognitive function ...

An often-ignored type of cell in the brain plays a dynamic and surprisingly complex role in our ability to process information, according to new research. An often-ignored type of cell in the brain ...

Fighting cancer at its tissue of origin is difficult enough, but when tumor cells disseminate or travel to other places in the body and establish residency, this challenge becomes even greater. This ...

The mechanism of astrocytic autophagy plasticity plays a crucial role in AD. When the autophagy-regulating genes (LC3B and SQSTM1) in astrocytes are activated, Aβ is efficiently removed, which is ...

Neurons are the most well-known cells in the brain but they are not the only type of cell in this organ. The other main type is the glial cells, also known as neuroglia. Glia comes from the Greek word ...

When it comes to brain function, neurons get a lot of the glory. But healthy brains depend on the cooperation of many kinds of cells. The most abundant of the brain’s non-neuronal cells are astrocytes ...

When astrocyte function is disrupted, neurons in the brain's motor cortex struggle to execute and refine motion, a new study in mice shows. From steering a car to swinging a tennis racket, we learn to ...