Repairing Spinal Cord Injuries Through Schwann Cell Transplantation and Inhibition of Scarring

A new treatment for spinal cord injuries using the transplantation of Schwann cells and inhibiting the formation of scar tissues is being developed at the University of Liverpool and University of Glasgow.

The most abundant cells in the central nervous system are astrocytes (see image). They are a type of glial cells, cells that provide support and insulation between brain neurons. Their function includes biochemical support of endothelial cells that form the blood–brain barrier, provision of nutrients to the nervous tissue, maintenance of extracellular ion balance, and a role in the repair and scarring process of the brain and spinal cord following traumatic injuries.

MIT News: Astrocyte Brain Cells Plays Key Role In Processing Sensory Information

How attention helps you remember

A new study from MIT neuroscientists sheds light on a neural circuit that makes us likelier to remember what we’re seeing when our brains are in a more attentive state.

The team of neuroscientists found that this circuit depends on a type of brain cell long thought to play a supporting role, at most, in neural processing. When the brain is attentive, those cells, called astrocytes, relay messages alerting neurons of the visual cortex that they should respond strongly to whatever visual information they are receiving.

The findings, published this week in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are the latest in a growing body of evidence suggesting that astrocytes are critically important for processing sensory information, says Mriganka Sur, the Paul E. and Lilah Newton Professor of Neuroscience at MIT and senior author of the paper.