Modern Discoveries in Neuroscience... And What They Reveal About You (Collection)

14. The seething breeding glioma

Sustaining adequate astrocyte turnover leads to a healthy brain. If astrocytes cannot replace themselves fast enough, a wasteland of ineffective cellular communication occurs and reveals itself in the form of neurodegenerative disease. This wasteland cannot provide an adequate level of consciousness when handling the environmental cues sent to it by the neurons. Astrocytes’ calcium puffs spur the imagination sparkling in our brains. Extra concentration, learning, and thinking might create full calcium waves and spawn additional astrocyte growth. More cells contribute to the ability to handle more complex ideas and process the environment on a higher level. More astrocytes also help a person create more new ideas, ...