Alongside the neurons of the brain, a complex network of supporting cells known as glial cells is necessary to maintain the proper functioning of the central nervous system.1,3,6 Glial cells are divided into the macroglia – which include astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and microglia.1,3,6
References:
1. Studying the nervous system. In: Augustine GJ, Groh J, Huettel S, et al. (eds). Neuroscience. 7th edition. Oxford University Press, 2023.
2. Azevedo FA, Carvalho LR, Grinberg LT, et al. Equal numbers of neuronal and nonneuronal cells make the human brain an isometrically scaled-up primate brain. J Comp Neurol 2009; 513 (5): 532–541.
3. The cells of the nervous system. In: Kandel ER, Koester JD, Mack SH, Siegelbaum SA (eds). Principles of Neural Science. 6th edition. McGraw-Hill, 2021.
4. Arellano JI, Morozov YM, Micali N, Rakic P. Radial glial cells: New views on old questions. Neurochem Res 2021; 46 (10): 2512–2524.
5. Hanani M, Spray DC. Emerging importance of satellite glia in nervous system function and dysfunction. Nat Rev Neurosci 2020; 21 (9): 485–498.
6. Nerve cells, neural circuitry, and behavior. In: Kandel ER, Koester JD, Mack SH, Siegelbaum SA (eds). Principles of Neural Science. 6th edition. McGraw-Hill, 2021.