Rosa Juliana M, Aguilar Juan
Neuronal Circuits and Behaviour Group, Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, Toledo, Spain.
Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Castilla-La Mancha (IDISCAM), Toledo, Spain.
J Neurochem. 2025 Jun;169(6):e70113. doi: 10.1111/jnc.70113.
One of the most fundamental abilities of the nervous system is to perceive, integrate, and process sensory inputs from the external environment. This physiological ability, known as sensory information processing, has been extensively studied using diverse experimental models, ranging from in vivo vertebrates and invertebrates to in vitro and computational approaches. Most of these seminal studies have primarily focused on neuronal components, providing critical insights into the principles of excitation and inhibition circuit dynamics and anatomical wiring. However, studies in the last decade have shed light on the important role of astrocytes in sensory information processing. The astrocytic effect on controlling the strength and gain of sensory neuronal responses is particularly evident in awake and freely moving animals, where their modulation has a direct influence on behavioral output, positioning them as cell targets to understand sensory processing as a whole in brain (dys)function. In this review, we draw attention to new research that casts doubt on the conventional neurocentric theories of sensory processing and highlights the growing influence of astrocytes on how sensory processing is shaped across modalities.
神经系统最基本的能力之一是感知、整合和处理来自外部环境的感觉输入。这种生理能力，即感觉信息处理，已经使用从体内脊椎动物和无脊椎动物到体外和计算方法等多种实验模型进行了广泛研究。这些开创性研究大多主要集中在神经元成分上，为兴奋和抑制电路动力学以及解剖布线原理提供了关键见解。然而，过去十年的研究揭示了星形胶质细胞在感觉信息处理中的重要作用。星形胶质细胞对控制感觉神经元反应强度和增益的影响在清醒和自由活动的动物中尤为明显，在这些动物中它们的调节对行为输出有直接影响，使它们成为理解大脑（功能）障碍中整体感觉处理的细胞靶点。在这篇综述中，我们关注新的研究，这些研究对传统的以神经元为中心的感觉处理理论提出了质疑，并强调了星形胶质细胞对跨模态感觉处理形成方式的日益增长的影响。
