Okay, I gotta say, I'm lowkey furious. There's a type of cell in the brain which outnumbers neurons, which has 10x the connection density in humans as in rodents, and which transmits signals. I'm 42 goddamn years old, and I learned about it TODAY.
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That's a claim, sure. Given a five second scan of the introduction to their Wikipedia article . . .
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"Research since the mid-1990s has shown that astrocytes propagate intercellular Ca2+ waves over long distances in response to stimulation, and, similar to neurons, release transmitters (called gliotransmitters) in a Ca2+-dependent manner.[6]"
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"Data suggest that astrocytes also signal to neurons through Ca2+-dependent release of glutamate.[7] Such discoveries have made astrocytes an important area of research within the field of neuroscience."
tl;dr: yep, sounds like they may take a more active part than advertised
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