Nirva Institute · Astrocytes · Foundations
Why Astrocytes Matter for Human Health
From disease pathogenesis to everyday brain function.
Astrocytes influence learning, memory, mood, sleep, pain, and recovery from injury. Their dysfunction is implicated in a growing list of neurological and psychiatric conditions.
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Everyday function
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Disease relevance
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Therapeutic promise
Astrocyte biology is an emerging therapeutic target. Whether therapies aimed at astrocytes can complement neuron-focused treatments is an active area of investigation.
Scientific References
Primary literature
AMA numeric style. Citation numbers are unified across the Nirva Life ecosystem — the same number refers to the same reference across every library article. Full registry is anchored in the Cornerstone Paper.
- 181.Santello M, Toni N, Volterra A. Astrocyte function from information processing to cognition and cognitive impairment. Nat Neurosci. 2019;22(2):154-166. PubMed ↗
- 183.Nedergaard M, Verkhratsky A. Astrocytes in brain health and disease. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2024. PubMed ↗
- 186.Halassa MM, Haydon PG. Integrated brain circuits: astrocytic networks modulate neuronal activity and behavior. Annu Rev Physiol. 2010;72:335-355. PubMed ↗
- 189.Liddelow SA, Guttenplan KA, Clarke LE, et al. Neurotoxic reactive astrocytes are induced by activated microglia. Nature. 2017;541(7638):481-487. PubMed ↗
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