Speaker
Description
Astroglia, or astrocytes, are a major class of glial cells in the central nervous system. Long considered passive support elements, they are now widely recognized as active and essential components of neural processing. Astroglia engage in complex, bidirectional communication with neurons [1], responding to neuronal input and modulating synaptic activity through diverse molecular and cellular mechanisms. They play crucial roles in regulating extracellular ion concentrations, clearing neurotransmitters, providing metabolic support, and contributing to the formation, maintenance, and remodeling of synapses. These functions establish astroglia as critical regulators of neural circuit dynamics and overall brain function, both under normal physiological conditions and in the context of neurological disorders. To better understand the complex nature of neuron–astroglia interactions in the brain, computational modeling of these processes is essential [2].
In this talk, I will review the main types of neuronal input signals to astroglia and describe the key astroglial mechanisms at both molecular and cellular levels that drive their functional outputs. I will then discuss the consequences of these outputs on brain activity, highlighting their relevance to brain function in health and disease. Furthermore, I will present some of our recent work in developing computational modeling methodologies, including new models and tools aimed at capturing astroglial influence on synaptic [3] and network dynamics [4], with particular emphasis on our astroglia implementations in the NEST simulation platform [5,6]. Finally, I will discuss how astroglial activity may shape brain functions such as synaptic transmission, network excitability, local and global network synchronization, long-distance signal propagation, and, ultimately, learning and memory in the brain.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the members of the Computational Neuroscience Group at Tampere University, particularly Dr. Tiina Manninen, Dr. Jugoslava Acimovic, and MSc Iiro Ahokainen, for their valuable contributions and continuous support. I am also deeply thankful to the teams of Prof. Markus Diesmann and Prof. Sacha van Albada, including MSc Han-Jia Jiang, as well as to Prof. Hans Ekkehard Plesser, for their insightful input and productive collaboration. The progress toward the NEST implementation would not have been possible without the dedication, expertise, and hard work of colleagues in both Tampere and Jülich.
References
[1] de Ceglia R., Ledonne A., Litvin D.G., Lind B.L., …, Telley L, Volterra A. Specialized astrocytes mediate glutamatergic gliotransmission in the CNS. Nature 622: 120–129, 2023.
[2] Linne M.-L. Computational modeling of neuron-glia signalling interactions to unravel cellular and neural circuit functioning. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 85: 102838, 2024.
[3] Manninen T., Saudargiene A., Linne M.-L. Astrocyte-mediated spike-timing-dependent long-term depression modulates synaptic properties in the developing cortex. PLoS Computational Biology 16(11): e1008360, 2020.
[4] Manninen T., Aćimović J., Linne M.-L. Analysis of Network Models with Neuron-Astrocyte Interactions. Neuroinformatics 21: 375–406, 2023.
[5] Jiang H.J., Aćimović J., Manninen T., Ahokainen I., Stapmans J., Lehtimä M., Diesmann M., van Albada S., Plesser H.E., Linne M.-L. Modeling neuron-astrocyte interactions in neural networks using distributed simulation. bioRxiv doi.org/10.1101/2024.11.11.622953
[6] https://nest-simulator.readthedocs.io/en/latest/auto_examples/astrocytes/index.html
| Topic area | Models and applications |
|---|---|
| Speaker time zone | UTC+3 |
| I agree to the copyright and license terms | Yes |
| I agree to the declaration of honor | Yes |
