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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences logoLink to Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
. 1999 Feb 28;354(1381):403–409. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1999.0393

The role of glial cells in synaptic function.

A Bacci 1, C Verderio 1, E Pravettoni 1, M Matteoli 1
PMCID: PMC1692488  PMID: 10212490

Abstract

Glial cells represent the most abundant cell population in the central nervous system and for years they have been thought to provide just structural and trophic support to neurons. Recently, several studies were performed, leading to the identification of an active interaction between glia and neurons. This paper focuses on the role played by glial cells at the level of the synapse, reviewing recent data defining how glia is determinant in synaptogenesis, in the modulation of fully working synaptic contacts and in synaptic plasticity.

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Selected References

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