A team of scientists from the Krembil Brain Institute, part of the University Health Network in Toronto, and Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, has developed the first computer model predicting the role of cortical glial cells in cognition.
The paper was published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
“The role of neurons is well documented, but neurons are interspersed with glial cells and many synapses in the brain have glia nearby,” says Dr. Maurizio De Pittà, a scientist at the Krembil Brain Institute and the first author of the study. “We currently do not understand how neurons and glia work together, or how glial dysfunction contributes to cognitive deficits.”
Glial cells are abundant throughout the brain and play several important roles. These cells have long been thought to be passive bystanders — physically supporting neurons…
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