Astrocytes

This volume is devoted to the phylogenetic and ontogenetic development of astrocytes and to an examination of astrocytes and related cells in various regions of the brain and to the relationships leading to the formation of the functional syncytium that provides a cellular basis for modulation of the microenvironment of the brain. The volume deals mainly with astrocytes in the brains of birds and mammals because glial cells in these vertebrates have maximum diversity and specialization. The recent proliferation in research on glia has led to the realization that astrocytes do not constitute a well-defined cell type throughout the whole central nervous system but rather form a family of closely related cell types with regional and functional specialization. This has led to considerable sophistication and complexity in the means of identification of specific subpopulations.