Abstract
Slow-wave sleep, defined by low frequency (<4 Hz) electrical brain activity, is a basic brain function affecting metabolite clearance and memory consolidation. The origin of low-frequency activity is related to cortical up and down states, but the underlying cellular mechanism of how low-frequency activities affect metabolite clearance and memory consolidation has remained elusive. We applied electrical stimulation with voltages comparable to in vivo sleep recordings over a range of frequencies to cultured glial astrocytes while monitored the trafficking of GFP-tagged intracellular vesicles using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM). We found that during low frequency (2 Hz) electrical stimulation the mobility of intracellular vesicle increased more than 20%, but remained unchanged under intermediate (20 Hz) or higher (200 Hz) frequency stimulation. We demonstrated a frequency-dependent effect of electrical stimulation on the mobility of astrocytic intracellular vesicles. We suggest a novel mechanism of brain modulation that electrical signals in the lower range frequencies embedded in brainwaves modulate the functionality of astrocytes for brain homeostasis and memory consolidation. The finding suggests a physiological mechanism whereby endogenous low-frequency brain oscillations enhance astrocytic function that may underlie some of the benefits of slow-wave sleep and highlights possible medical device approach for treating neurological diseases.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 429-435 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications |
Volume | 534 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2021 |
Keywords
- Astrocytes
- Electrical stimulation
- Intracellular vesicles
- Slow-wave sleep
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology