RUI: ph Regulation in Medullary Glia

大脑由两种细胞组成，分别是神经元和神经胶质细胞。我们对大脑中信息处理的大部分了解都涉及大脑神经元之间电信号的产生、传播和传递。虽然神经元在学习和记忆等所有与大脑相关的活动中都起着关键作用，但最近的研究表明，神经胶质细胞可能在正常的神经元功能中起着至关重要的作用。神经胶质在正常脑功能中的重要性可能与它们调节神经元可获得的各种化学物质的能力有关。研究这些化学物质的调控是很重要的，因为这些物质可以对神经元电信号的产生产生深远的影响，从而影响大脑处理信息的类型和内容。埃利希曼博士将研究大脑中参与呼吸调节的神经胶质细胞的作用。利用活体脑组织和一种特殊的显微镜，他将研究神经胶质如何调节大脑中被称为髓质的区域的酸度水平。控制体内酸度水平是已知的最严格的调节系统之一。这种严格的调节被认为是因为酸度的轻微变化（过多或过少）会极大地破坏整个身体的细胞功能。髓质是大脑中一个特别重要的区域，因为这些区域的神经元通过改变电信号的产生来“感知”酸度的变化。这些电信号的变化最终导致呼吸的变化，这是身体用来调节酸度的一种方法。研究胶质细胞在这种反应中的作用是令人兴奋的，因为它将提供重要的新信息，说明胶质细胞如何帮助调节髓质中的酸度，更一般地说，这两种细胞类型的相互作用如何帮助塑造大脑中的信息处理。

IBN 98-10809 ERLICHMAN The brain is composed of two types of cells termed neurons and glia. Most of what we know about the processing of information in the brain involves the generation, propagation and transfer of electrical signals between neurons within the brain. Although it is clear that neurons play a pivotal role in all brain-related activities such as learning and memory, recent research suggests that glial cells may play a crucial role in normal neuronal function. The importance of glia in normal brain function may be related to their ability to regulate a variety of chemicals accessible to the neurons. The regulation of these chemicals is important to study because these substances that can have profound effects on the production of electrical signals in neurons and thus the type and content of information processed by the brain. Dr. Erlichman will examine role of glia in a region of the brain involved in the regulation of breathing. Using live brain tissue and a special microscope, he will investigate how glia regulate the level of acidity in a region of the brain known as the medulla. Controlling the level of acidity in the body is one of the most tightly regulated systems known. This tight regulation is thought to occur because slight variations in acidity (either too much or too little) can greatly disrupt cell function throughout the body. The medulla is a particularly important region of the brain since neurons at these sites 'sense' changes in acidity by altering their production of electrical signals. These changes in electrical signals ultimately result in a change in breathing, which is one method the body uses to regulate acidity. Investigating the role of glia in this response is exciting because it will provide important new information on how glia help regulate acidity in the medulla and more generally, how the interaction of these two cell types help shape information processing in the brain.