Astrocyte modulation of neural activity during intracortical microstimulation

In awake mice visual cortex, bidirectional astrocyte calcium modulation during intracortical microstimulation shapes ongoing neural activity in a pattern-dependent way, pulling responses toward an intermediate state.

• Why it matters: Neuron-centric views leave mechanisms unclear for how glia regulate brain responses during long-duration electrical stimulation, limiting therapeutic neurostimulation design.
• What they did: Using two-photon and mesoscale calcium imaging in awake mice, astrocyte calcium signaling was bidirectionally manipulated during ICMS with chemogenetic hM3Dq and optogenetic melanopsin tools.
• The result: Near the electrode, neurons showed mixed increases and decreases, while astrocyte calcium pulled responses toward an intermediate state, with direction set by each neuron’s starting response and distance from the electrode.