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Astrocytes get in the act in epilepsy

Neurons in the brain of individuals with focal epilepsy exhibit sustained discharges, called paroxysmal depolarization shifts. Unexpected new evidence indicates that glutamate release from glia can generate these events, and may serve to synchronize the activity of neurons (pages 973–981).

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Figure 1: Glutamate released from astrocytes generates a paroxysmal depolarization shift (PDS), the elemental electrophysiological event in focal epilepsy.

Katie Ris

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Rogawski, M. Astrocytes get in the act in epilepsy. Nat Med 11, 919–920 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0905-919

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