| Oligodendrocytes changing the rules: action potentials in glia and oligodendrocytes controlling action potentials. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 19029057 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
Two long-standing rules in cellular neuroscience must now be amended with the publication of two studies on myelin-forming glia in the CNS: 1) Neurons can no longer be considered the only cells that fire electric impulses in the brain. 2) Synapses between neurons are not the only way electrical information is regulated as it propagates through neural circuits: oligodendrocytes can cause rapid activity-dependent changes in spike latency. A category of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) has been identified that can fire action potentials, and their excitation is driven by synapses from axons. This finding has relevance to excitotoxicity in ischemia, but the normal function may be to regulate myelination according to functional activity in axons. A second study reveals that action potential propagation through CNS axons can be rapidly regulated by oligodendrocytes. Mature oligodendrocytes in the rat hippocampus are depolarized by theta burst stimulation of axons, and when the oligodendrocytes are depolarized by current injection in paired whole-cell recordings with CA1 pyramidal neurons, the latency of impulse conduction through the axons it ensheathes rapidly decreases. This unprecedented finding suggests a dynamic role for myelin in regulating impulse transmission through axons, promoting neural synchrony among the multiple axons under the domain of an individual oligodendrocyte. |
| | |
Authors:
|
R Douglas Fields |
Related Documents
:
|
8853697 - Pleuro-buccal projections in pulmonate molluscs. 9192317 - Paraesthesiae induced by prolonged high frequency stimulation of human cutaneous affere... 10654077 - Topographic mapping of the axons of the femoral chordotonal organ neurons in the cricke... 12564387 - Acrylamide neuropathy. ii. spatiotemporal characteristics of nerve cell damage in brain... 3024077 - 'choreic' movement induced by unilateral kainate lesion of the striatum and l-dopa admi... 15089177 - Hidden neuronal correlations in cultured networks. |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural; Review |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: The Neuroscientist : a review journal bringing neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry Volume: 14 ISSN: 1073-8584 ISO Abbreviation: Neuroscientist Publication Date: 2008 Dec |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2008-11-25 Completed Date: 2009-04-14 Revised Date: 2009-11-18 |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 9504819 Medline TA: Neuroscientist Country: United States |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 540-3 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
|
Nervous System Development and Plasticity Section, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. fieldsd@mail.nih.gov |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Action Potentials
/
physiology* Animals Central Nervous System / cytology* Oligodendroglia / physiology* Synapses / physiology |
| Grant Support | |
ID/Acronym/Agency:
|
Z01 HD000713-13/HD/NICHD NIH HHS |
| Comments/Corrections | |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: An estimate of the collective dose to the European population from cardiac X-ray procedures.
Next Document: Glial cells as players in parkinsonism: the "good," the "bad," and the "mysterious" glia.