Neuroglia

Glial cells, sometimes called neuroglia or simply glia (Greek γλία and γλοία "glue"; pronounced in English as either /ˈɡliːə/ or /ˈɡlaɪə/), are non-neuronal cells that maintain homeostasis, form myelin, and provide support and protection for neurons in the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system.

As the Greek name implies, glia are commonly known as the glue of the nervous system; however, this is not fully accurate. Glia were discovered in 1856, by the pathologist Rudolf Virchow in his search for a "connective tissue" in the brain.Neuroscience currently identifies four main functions of glial cells:

For over a century, it was believed that the neuroglia did not play any role in neurotransmission. However 21st century neuroscience has recognized that glial cells do have some effects on certain physiological processes like breathing, and in assisting the neurons to form synaptic connections between each other.

Glia (journal)

Glia is a Monthly peer reviewed scientific journal covering research on the structure and function of neuroglia. It was established in 1988 and is published by John Wiley & Sons. The founding and current editors-in-chief are Bruce R. Ransom (University of Washington School of Medicine) and Helmut Kettenmann (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine).

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in:

According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2012 impact factor of 5.066.

References

External links

List of minor planets: 4001–5000