Talk:Glial cell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Neuroscience. Please visit the project page for details or ask questions at the talk page. |
| Start | This article has been rated as start-Class on the quality assessment scale |
| Top | This article has been rated as Top-importance on the importance assessment scale |
Added "Greek for 'glue'" 62.242.0.66 12:17, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
Ok, this is most of all I got. please add somebody. GrazingshipIV 04:41, Mar 11, 2004 (UTC)
Contents |
[edit] Discrepancy?
In the introduction, it is stated that glia outnumber neurons by as much as 50 to 1. In the history section, it is stated that glial cells are 9 times as numerous as neurons.
- I would assume that "as many as" is the limit, and the 9 to 1 is the normal ratio. That's a guess, and I'm not a neurophysiologist. --G3pro 15:28, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)
There's a lot of inaccuracy in these numbers...
From: http://www.du.edu/~kinnamon/3640/neuron&glia.html
"In some parts of the nervous system they outnumber the neurons by a ratio of 10 to 1!"
From: http://www.med.wright.edu/whatsnew/daymed/DM99/1099.pdf
"In the human brain glia outnumber neurons by a ratio of 10 to 1."
From: Neuroscience, third edition, published by Sinauer (http://www.sinauer.com/detail.php?id=7250)
"Glia are more numerous than neurons in the brain, outnumbering them by a ratio of perhaps 3 to 1."
Glydia Pokoli 04:02, 12 December 2005 (UTC)
Whatever is displayed, it should be mentioned where the number comes from. I happened to see the figure 3 to 1 in a book I was reading, so I changed it to that and cited the source. The source is a work of philosophy, though, not science, so if someone has another it might be nice to change it. Or maybe it is worth saying more if the number estimated is all over the place in different sources. JordanDeLong 05:39, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
It appears there may be a number of reasons for the discrepancies that appear here. I suspect that one of the main reasons for this is the lack of information available. Human Autopsies dissecting the brain are rare and few people have donated their brains for scientific purposes to enhance understanding of this topic. I also suspect that the number is considerably variable, dependent on the individual. Also, as neurons die, do Glial cells die also? A 'new' brain of a youth may have a lot of neurons and will have a low ratio of glial to neurone cells, whereas the 'old' brain of a pensioner will have fewer neurons, and therefore a higher glial cell to neurones ratio. I also add that I would expect the number to be less variable than the values quoted here. In reference to the Einstein article, it was found that he had 73% more glial cells than average. This would make the 500% variabilities between 10x and 50x glial:neurons to be outside reasonable bounds. However, the extra Glial cells posessed by Einstein have not been proven conclusively to have a significant effect on his intellect. I also suspect that different regions of the human brain contain more glial cells than others. For example, does the cerebellum contain more than the thalamus ? Does non-brain neuronal tissue contain glial cells ? The figure in the introduction quotes the figure for the brain, whereas the later figure may relate to the whole nervous system, ie. Brain and spinal chord etc. Does non-brain nervous tissue such as the spinal chord contain glial cells ? I suspect it does if it undergoes neuronal impulses with axons and myelanation. These are just some of my ideas, however it must be noted that I am not an expert in the field of Neuroscience, or even a distinguished scientist who can provide accurate answers to the question. --Minotaur500 18:47, 6 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Discrepancy 2
A fundamental difference with neurons is their ability to duplicate through mitosis.
That line is found in the Astrocyte article, but contradicted in this article. -- Consumed Crustacean | Talk | 02:59, Jun 15, 2005 (UTC)
- At least some neuroglia retain mitotic ability for at least several years after development, although I don't know which exactly... --Username132 (talk) 09:53, 21 May 2006 (UTC)
90% are glia, 10% are neurons. And indeed, astrocyts regenerate well. Good mitosis capacity. (gliosis). Neurons normally don't do mitosis I think, since they last a lifetime, and after one is born there is no need to generate more neurons. (even though neuron tumors do occur, but seldom)
Source: My histology course (Gent University).
Neurons do not undergo mitosis after they differentiate. There are neural stem cells in certain parts of the brain (like the olfactory bulb) that can lead to neurogenesis.
140.247.100.230 18:46, 11 January 2007 (UTC)Source: My cellular Neurobiology class (Harvard University)
[edit] Convert Sections To Bullet Points
I propose that the "function of the glial cell" section is turned to bullet points with the main body of information contained within the subsequent sections on individual receptor types. --Username132 (talk) 15:36, 20 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] repair after injury
i've added some information about glial repair under the functions of glia cells. i think this counts as one of their primary functions that deserves a mention. the information is from neuroscience 3rd edition purves et all isbn 0-87893-725-0. not really sure how to put the references on properly yet... --Dylan2106 20:04, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
[edit] No references?
Who added that? Did you try scrolling to the bottom of the page. --IceHunter 17:32, 12 September 2007 (UTC)
- Whoever added that, I changed to a "refimprove" tag. There are some references right now but certainly not enough for such an important article in the biology field. Keith Galveston (talk) 01:35, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
[edit] integrating into the table
I think the following content is supposed to be integrated into the table. Does everyone agree?
[edit] Astrocytes
- star shaped with many processes
- connect to neurons; help anchor them to nearby blood capillaries
- control the chemical environment of the neurons
[edit] Ependymal cells
- range in shape from squamous to columnar; many are ciliated
- line the dorsal body cavity housing the brain and spinal cord
- form a barrier between the neurons and the rest of the body
[edit] Oligodendrocytes
- have few processes
- line up along neurons and wrap themselves around axons
- form the myelin sheath – an insulating membrane
- form a semi stiff connective tissue around the neurons in CNS
- oligodendrocytes form myelin sheath of neurons in CNS
Keith Galveston (talk) 01:59, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Glia in Information Processing
Seems like there is evidence for their involvement in information processing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&uid=17202478&cmd=showdetailview&indexed=google May want to add something to the article about this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.208.151.65 (talk) 03:57, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
