Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 111, Issue 32, Pages E3343-E3352Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1410893111
Keywords
glia; electroencephalogram; network oscillation; gliotransmitter; glial fibrillary acidic protein
Categories
Funding
- Salk Innovation Grant
- Kavli Innovative Research Awards
- Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Fellowship
- Life Sciences Research Foundation Pfizer Fellowship
- Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
- Bundy Foundation
- Jose Carreras International Leukemia Foundation
- Pew Charitable Trusts
- National Science Foundation
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Office of Naval Research [N000141210299]
- National Institutes of Health
- Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie
- SBE Off Of Multidisciplinary Activities [1344471] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Glial cells are an integral part of functional communication in the brain. Here we show that astrocytes contribute to the fast dynamics of neural circuits that underlie normal cognitive behaviors. In particular, we found that the selective expression of tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT) in astrocytes significantly reduced the duration of carbachol-induced gamma oscillations in hippocampal slices. These data prompted us to develop a novel transgenic mouse model, specifically with inducible tetanus toxin expression in astrocytes. In this in vivo model, we found evidence of a marked decrease in electroencephalographic (EEG) power in the gamma frequency range in awake-behaving mice, whereas neuronal synaptic activity remained intact. The reduction in cortical gamma oscillations was accompanied by impaired behavioral performance in the novel object recognition test, whereas other forms of memory, including working memory and fear conditioning, remained unchanged. These results support a key role for gamma oscillations in recognition memory. Both EEG alterations and behavioral deficits in novel object recognition were reversed by suppression of tetanus toxin expression. These data reveal an unexpected role for astrocytes as essential contributors to information processing and cognitive behavior.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available