On-demand energy for firing brain nerve fibers.
Brain function relies on swift electrical signals through axons, insulated by myelin from oligodendrocytes.
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Brain function relies on swift electrical signals through axons, insulated by myelin from oligodendrocytes.
<p><strong>To rapidly transmit electrical signals in the brain, the long nerve fibers are insulated by specialized cells called oligodendrocytes. These cells also respond to the electrical signals of active nerve fibers and provide them with energy on demand, as UZH researchers have discovered. If this process, regulated by potassium, is disabled in mice, the nerve fibers are severely damaged as the animals age – resembling the defects of neurodegenerative diseases.</strong></p>
Brain function relies on swift electrical signals through axons, insulated by myelin from oligodendrocytes.
Communication through astrocyte networks controls the formation of spatial memories and plasticity in the hippocampus.