Newfound brain network is a ‘secret system’ made of helper cells

The lesser-known brain cells called astrocytes form their own networks in the brain. Credit: Prof. Stephen Waxman, Hank Morgan/Science Photo Library Scientists have discovered that the unsung brain cells called astrocytes form extensive networks in the mouse brain 1 — networks similar in some respects to the brain circuits formed by the more celebrated brain cells called neurons. The researchers compiled a whole-brain, 3D map of astrocyte networks, which the authors say is the first of its kind. It , shows that webs of the cells connect far-flung regions of the brain, allowing the cells to exchange molecules with each other over long distances. The ‘silent’ brain cells that shape our behaviour, memory and health “It’s a secret subway system we didn’t know was there,” says Shane Liddelow, a neuroscientist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City and a co-author of a paper published today in Nature describing the work. “This opens up a whole new avenue of investigation.” Astrocyte networks can bridge the brain’s hemispheres, and they display plasticity, reshaping their connections in response to sensory deprivation, the team found. The work is “a fundamentally important advance in our understanding of nervous system structure”, says David Lyons, a neurobiologist at the University of Edinburgh, UK, who was not involved with the research. He adds that so far, this new evidence of complex astrocyte networks raises more questions than it answers. …