Dr. Grayson Sipe, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Sur Laboratory
Picower Institute, MIT
Astrocytes represent a significant population of non-neuronal cells with roles in ionic homeostasis, neurotransmitter transport, and metabolic coupling. How astrocytes dynamically influence neuronal circuits remains unclear. Previous work has determined that astrocytes spontaneously display mysterious, cortex-wide, calcium events due to the release of the neuromodulator, norepinephrine, during arousal. Norepinephrine is necessary for global brain state changes in arousal, novelty response, and attentional task switching. However, abnormal arousal can be pathological as evidenced by patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. I will present recent work from my lab in which we use live two-photon imaging, optogenetics, and pupillometry to explore how global astrocytic calcium events occur and what effects they have on neuronal networks during high arousal states.