Spreading depression (SD) is a transient wave of near-complete neuronal and glial
depolarization associated with massive transmembrane ionic and water shifts. It is …

Neuronal activity results in increased blood flow in the brain, a response named functional
hyperemia. Astrocytes play an important role in mediating this response. Neurotransmitters …

Membrane water transport is critically involved in brain volume homeostasis and in the
pathogenesis of brain edema. The cDNA encoding aquaporin-4 (AQP4) water channel …

From a structural perspective, the predominant glial cell of the central nervous system, the
astrocyte, is positioned to regulate synaptic transmission and neurovascular coupling: the …

Rapid changes in extracellular K+ concentration ([K+] o) in the mammalian CNS are
counteracted by simple passive diffusion as well as by cellular mechanisms of K+ clearance …

Astrocytes are often referred to, and historically have been regarded as, support cells of the
mammalian CNS. Work over the last decade suggests otherwise—that astrocytes may in fact …

Neurons have long held the spotlight as the central players of the nervous system, but we
must remember that we have equal numbers of astrocytes and neurons in the brain. Are …

Aquaporin (AQP) water channels are abundant in the brain and spinal cord, where AQP1
and AQP4 are believed to play major roles in water metabolism and osmoregulation …

The mechanisms by which active neurons, via astrocytes, rapidly signal intracerebral
arterioles to dilate remain obscure. Here we show that modest elevation of extracellular …

Moment-to-moment changes in local neuronal activity lead to dynamic changes in cerebral
blood flow. Emerging evidence implicates astrocytes as one of the key players in …