Stevens has identified microglia as playing a central role in neuron-glia communication. As the resident phagocytes of the central nervous system (CNS), microglia survey their local environment, clear cellular debris, and make contact with neurons to aid in synaptic pruning during development and learning.[10] She has proposed a "quad-partite" expansion of the tripartite synapse model by including microglia as functional participants in developing and mature synapses.[11]