Topic: Confocal Ca2+ imaging

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a cortical brain region characterized by complex cognitive functions, such as working memory and decision making. These complex functions are based on a finely tuned interaction between excitatory pyramidal neurons, inhibitory GABAergic interneurons and astrocytes. Astrocytes as well as neurons express a variety of neurotransmitter receptors, the activation of which leads to an increase in intracellular calcium (Ca2+). The aim of this study was to characterize the purinergic Ca2+ signaling and to identify the involved receptors in astrocytes of the mPFC.C