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Astrocyte and Neuronal Plasticity in the Somatosensory System

Sims, Robert E.; Butcher, John B.; Rheinallt Parri, H.; Glazewski, Stanislaw

Authors

Robert E. Sims

John B. Butcher

H. Rheinallt Parri

Stanislaw Glazewski



Abstract

Changing the whisker complement on a rodent’s snout can lead to two forms of experience-dependent plasticity (EDP) in the neurons of the barrel cortex, where whiskers are somatotopically represented. One form, termed coding plasticity, concerns changes in synaptic transmission and connectivity between neurons. This is thought to underlie learning and memory processes and so adaptation to a changing environment. The second, called homeostatic plasticity, serves to maintain a restricted dynamic range of neuronal activity thus preventing its saturation or total downregulation. Current explanatory models of cortical EDP are almost exclusively neurocentric. However, in recent years, increasing evidence has emerged on the role of astrocytes in brain function, including plasticity. Indeed, astrocytes appear as necessary partners of neurons at the core of the mechanisms of coding and homeostatic plasticity recorded in neurons. In addition to neuronal plasticity, several different forms of astrocytic plasticity have recently been discovered. They extend from changes in receptor expression and dynamic changes in morphology to alteration in gliotransmitter release. It is however unclear how astrocytic plasticity contributes to the neuronal EDP. Here, we review the known and possible roles for astrocytes in the barrel cortex, including its plasticity.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 9, 2015
Publication Date Apr 9, 2015
Journal Neural Plasticity
Print ISSN 2090-5904
Publisher Hindawi
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 2015
Article Number 732014
DOI https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/732014
Publisher URL http://www.hindawi.com/journals/np/2015/732014/