The other half of the brain - Many Minds
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- Title
- The other half of the brain
- Description
- <p class="p1">Neurons have long enjoyed a kind of rock star status. We think of them as the most fundamental units of the brain—the active cells at the heart of brain function and, ultimately, at the heart of behavior, learning, and more. But neurons are only part of the story—about half the story, it turns out. The other half of the brain is made up of cells called glia. Glia were long thought to be important structurally but not particularly exciting—basically stage-hands there to support the work of the neurons. But in recent decades, at least among neuroscientists, that view has faded. In our understanding of the brain, glia have gone from stage-hands to co-stars.</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">My guest today is <a href= "https://www.salk.edu/scientist/nicola-allen/"><span class="s1">Dr. Nicola Allen</span></a>. Nicola is a molecular neuroscientist and Associate Professor at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. She and her lab study the role of glial cells—especially astrocytes—in brain function and dysfunction.</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">Here, Nicola and I talk about how our understanding and appreciation of glial cells has changed. We do a bit of Brain Cells 101, reviewing the main division between neurons and glia and then sketching the subtypes within each category. We discuss the different shapes and sizes of glial cells, as well as the different functions. Glia are an industrious bunch. They’re involved in synapse formation and pruning, the production of myelin, the repair of injuries, and more. We also talk about how glial cells have been implicated in various forms of brain dysfunction, from neurodegeneration to neurodevelopmental syndromes. And how, as a result, these cells are attracting serious attention as a site for therapeutic intervention.</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">Well, it's that time of year again folks. Applications are now open for the 2025 Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, or DISI. This is an intense program—highly interdisciplinary, highly international—for scholars and storytellers interested in all forms and facets of intelligence. If you like thinking about minds, if you like thinking about humans and animals and plants and AIs and collectives and ways they’re alike and different—you would probably like DISI. For more info, check out <a href="https://disi.org/"><span class= "s2">disi.org</span></a>—that's D-I-S-I dot org. Review of applications begins March 1st, so don't dally too too long.</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">Alright friends—on to my conversation with Dr. Nicola Allen. Enjoy!</p> <p class="p3"> </p> <p class="p4"><span style= "text-decoration: underline;"><span class="s3"><em>Notes and links</em></span></span></p> <p class="p4">3:00 – Correction: “glia” actually comes from the <em>Greek</em>—not the Latin—for “glue.”</p> <p class="p4">3:30 – See this short <a href= "https://www.nature.com/articles/457675a"><span class= "s1">primer</span></a> on glia by Dr. Allen and Dr. Ben Barres. For a bit of the history of how glial cells were originally conceived, see <a href= "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166223607001828?casa_token=_8egty73bgUAAAAA:Nk4rjUT81cZES-z96_N4pCJEQUmFQGVCNc0daLrkNs5w3BO6iKUfO-Q2-2zv3HPphFXhf5qsSCQ"><span class="s1">this article</span></a> on Ramón y Cajal’s contributions to glia research.</p> <p class="p4">10:00 – On the nascent field of “neuroimmunology,” see <a href= "https://academic.oup.com/cei/article/197/3/278/6402560"><span class="s1"> here</span></a>.</p> <p class="p4">14:00 – On the idea that “90% of brain cells are glia” see <a href= "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24807023/"><span class="s1">this article</span></a> by (former <a href= "https://disi.org/the-mighty-t-rex-brain/">guest</a>) Suzana Herculano-Houzel.</p> <p class="p4">18:00 – The root “oligo” in “oligodendrocyte” means “few” (and is thus the same as the “olig” in, e.g., “oligarchy"). It is not related to the “liga-” in “ligament.”</p>
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-23T00:29:00+00:00
- Status
- completed
- Website
- https://manyminds.libsyn.com/the-other-half-of-the-brain
- Length
- 59:38
- File
- /podcasts/Many Minds/1737592140-4981.mp3
- Size
- 81.9 MB
- Bitrate
- 187-CBR
- Channels
- 1
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