Microglia function during brain development: New insights from animal models.

Brain Res
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

The role of microglia in healthy brains is just beginning to receive notice. Recent studies have revealed that these phagocytic cells control the patterning and wiring of the developing central nervous system (CNS) by regulating, amongst many other processes, programmed cell death, activity-dependent synaptic pruning and synapse maturation. Microglia also play important roles in the mature brain and have demonstrated effects on behavior. Converging evidence from human and mouse studies together raise questions as to the role of microglia in disorders of brain development such as autism and, schizophrenia. In this review, we summarize a number of major findings regarding the role of microglia in brain development and highlight some key questions and avenues for future study. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Neuroimmunology in Health And Disease.

Year of Publication
2015
Journal
Brain Res
Volume
1617
Pages
7-17
Date Published
2015 Aug 18
ISSN
1872-6240
DOI
10.1016/j.brainres.2014.11.032
PubMed ID
25463024
Links
Grant list
R01NS071008 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States