Abstract
The name glia derives from the Greek work for glue and suggests what role these cells have been thought to play, namely holding together the rest of the brain tissue. While it is probably true that glial cells provide structural support for the neurons, which they outnumber in the brain by a factor of 9, research during recent years has revealed many more important functions these cells play in the central and peripheral nervous system. It is now understood that glia directs the neuronal growth in the developing brain. Oligodendrocytes produce coatings of myelin that electrically insulates axons and thus speed up propagation of electric pulses and microglia serve as immune cells to the brain.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. IBN-0078055.
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© 2003 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Jung, P., Cornell-Bell, A.H., deGrauw, A., Strawsburg, R. (2003). Neuroglia, the Other Brain Cells. In: Milton, J., Jung, P. (eds) Epilepsy as a Dynamic Disease. Biological and Medical Physics Series. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05048-4_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05048-4_4
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