Glutamate-Dependent Neuroglial Calcium Signaling Differs Between
Young and Adult Brain, a new study published in Science, will
make you forget everything you know about about how brain cells
communicate. The study demonstrates that the tripartite synapse
– a model long accepted by the scientific community and one in
which multiple cells collaborate to move signals in the central
nervous system – does not exist in the adult brain. “Our
findings demonstrate that the tripartite synaptic model is
incorrect,” said Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., lead author
of the study and co-director of the University of Rochester
Medical Center (URMC) Center for Translational Neuromedicine.
“This concept does not represent the process for transmitting
signals between neurons in the brain beyond the developmental
stage.” The central nervous system is home to many different
cells. While neurons tend to garner the most attention, it is
only recently that the function of the brain’s other cells have
been fully appreciated. Glial