REVIEW article
Front. Cell. Neurosci.
Sec. Non-Neuronal Cells
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fncel.2025.1606265
This article is part of the Research TopicFrom astrocytic calcium signaling to synaptic resilience: emerging insights in pathology and physiologyView all articles
Astrocyte regulation of behavioral outputs: the versatile roles of calcium
Provisionally accepted
- Texas A and M University, College Station, United States
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Behavior arises from coordinated brain-wide neural and glial networks, enabling organisms to perceive, interpret, and respond to stimuli. Astrocytes play an important role in shaping behavioral output, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Astrocytes respond to intrinsic and extrinsic cues with calcium (Ca²⁺) fluctuations, which are highly heterogeneous across spatio-temporal scales, contexts, and brain regions. This heterogeneity allows astrocytes to exert dynamic regulatory effects on neuronal function but has made it challenging to understand the precise mechanisms and pathways linking astrocytic Ca²⁺ to specific behavioral outcomes, and the functional relevance of these signals remains unclear. Here, we review recent literature uncovering roles for astrocytic Ca²⁺ signaling in a wide array of behaviors, including cognitive, homeostatic, and affective under bothfocusing on its physiological roles, and potential pathological implicationsandfor pathological conditions. We specifically highlight how different types of astrocytic Ca²⁺ signals are linked to distinct behavioral outcomes and discuss limitations and unanswered questions that remain to be addressed.
Keywords: astrocyte, Neuron, Behavior, Calcium Signaling, synapse, Astrocytic Ca(2+) signaling
Received: 04 Apr 2025; Accepted: 25 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Imrie and Farhy-Tselnicker. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Gillian Imrie, Texas A and M University, College Station, United States
Isabella Farhy-Tselnicker, Texas A and M University, College Station, United States
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