Shining the Light on Astrocytic Ensembles

Abstract

While neurons have traditionally been considered the primary players in information processing, the role of astrocytes in this mechanism has largely been overlooked due to experimental constraints. In this review, we propose that astrocytic ensembles are active working groups that contribute significantly to animal conduct and suggest that studying the maps of these ensembles in conjunction with neurons is crucial for a more comprehensive understanding of behavior. We also discuss available methods for studying astrocytes and argue that these ensembles, complementarily with neurons, code and integrate complex behaviors, potentially specializing in concrete functions.

Keywords: astrocytic ensembles; behavior; brain integration properties; neuron-astrocyte communication.

Figure 1

Percentage of studies focusing exclusively on Neurons (green), Astrocytes (red), and on Neurons and Astrocytes (blue) published in the years 2000 and 2022 and across time within the year range from 2000 to 2022. The total number accounts for the sum of Neuron, Astrocytes, and Neuron and Astrocytes studies. Data were extracted from the Scopus database.

Figure 2

Map of bibliographical data with co-occurrence analysis of arbitrarily selected keywords (items) to show the relatedness of the keywords as a function of the number of documents in which they occur together, which is quantified by a weight value, and visually reflected in the thickness of the linking line, the closeness within items, and the label size.

Figure 3

Schematic representation to illustrate the traditional perspective in which astrocytes respond homogeneously (left; neurons (blue) and astrocytes (gray)) and the view in which astrocytes respond in ensembles (right; neurons (blue), low-activity astrocytes (green), medium-activity astrocytes (yellow), high-activity astrocytes (red)).