Microglia are essential for the development and function of the adult brain. Their ontogeny, together with the absence of turnover from the periphery and the singular environment of the central nervous system (CNS), make microglia a unique cell population compared to other tissue-macrophages. The unique properties and functions of microglial cells, such as their role in synaptic pruning or the exceptional capacity to scan the brain parenchyma and rapidly react to its perturbations, have emerged in recent years. In the coming years, understanding how microglia acquire and maintain their unique profiles in order to fulfil distinct tasks in the healthy CNS and how these are altered in disease, will be essential to develop strategies to diagnose or treat CNS disorders with an immunological component. This Research Topic covers several aspects of microglial biology, ranging from their origin and the functional role of microglia during development and lifespan, their molecular properties compared with other brain and peripheral immune cells to microglial phenotypes and functional states in neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumours. In conclusion, the present Research Topic provides a comprehensive overview of our current understanding of several cellular and molecular mechanisms that make microglia a unique immune cell population within the healthy CNS as well as under inflammatory, neurodegenerative and tumorigenic processes.

Microglia are essential for the development and function of the adult brain. Their ontogeny, together with the absence of turnover from the periphery and the singular environment of the central nervous system (CNS), make microglia a unique cell population compared to other tissue-macrophages. The unique properties and functions of microglial cells, such as their role in synaptic pruning or the exceptional capacity to scan the brain parenchyma and rapidly react to its perturbations, have emerged in recent years. In the coming years, understanding how microglia acquire and maintain their unique profiles in order to fulfil distinct tasks in the healthy CNS and how these are altered in disease, will be essential to develop strategies to diagnose or treat CNS disorders with an immunological component. This Research Topic covers several aspects of microglial biology, ranging from their origin and the functional role of microglia during development and lifespan, their molecular properties compared with other brain and peripheral immune cells to microglial phenotypes and functional states in neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumours. In conclusion, the present Research Topic provides a comprehensive overview of our current understanding of several cellular and molecular mechanisms that make microglia a unique immune cell population within the healthy CNS as well as under inflammatory, neurodegenerative and tumorigenic processes.

These past few years have witnessed a revolution in our understanding of microglia, especially since their roles in the healthy central nervous system (CNS) have started to unravel. These cells were shown to actively maintain health, in concert with neurons and other types of CNS cells, providing further insight into their involvement with diseases. Edited by two pioneers in the field, Marie-Ève Tremblay and Amanda Sierra, Microglia in health and disease aims to share with the broader scientific community some of the recent discoveries in microglia research, from a broad perspective, with a collection of 19 chapters from 52 specialists working in 11 countries across 5 continents. To set microglia on the stage, the book begins by explaining briefly who they are, what they do in the healthy and diseased CNS, and how they can be studied. The first section describes in more details their physiological roles in the maturation, function, and plasticity of the CNS, across development, adolescence, adulthood, neuropathic pain, addiction, and aging. The second section focuses on their implication in pathological conditions impairing the quality of life: neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, AIDS, and multiple sclerosis; and in leading causes of death: ischemia and stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, as well as trauma and injury.

The genetic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms of neural development are essential for understanding evolution and disorders of neural systems. Recent advances in genetic, molecular, and cell biological methods have generated a massive increase in new information, but there is a paucity of comprehensive and up-to-date syntheses, references, and historical perspectives on this important subject. The Comprehensive Developmental Neuroscience series is designed to fill this gap, offering the most thorough coverage of this field on the market today and addressing all aspects of how the nervous system and its components develop. Particular attention is paid to the effects of abnormal development and on new psychiatric/neurological treatments being developed based on our increased understanding of developmental mechanisms. Each volume in the series consists of review style articles that average 15-20pp and feature numerous illustrations and full references. Volume 1 offers 48 high level articles devoted mainly to patterning and cell type specification in the developing central and peripheral nervous systems. - Series offers 144 articles for 2904 full color pages addressing ways in which the nervous system and its components develop - Features leading experts in various subfields as Section Editors and article Authors - All articles peer reviewed by Section Editors to ensure accuracy, thoroughness, and scholarship - Volume 1 sections include coverage of mechanisms which: control regional specification, regulate proliferation of neuronal progenitors and control differentiation and survival of specific neuronal subtypes, and controlling development of non-neural cells

This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact.

A timely overview covering the three major types of glial cells in the central nervous system - astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes. New findings on glia biology are overturning a century of conventional thinking about how the brain operates and are expanding our knowledge about information processing in the brain. The book will present recent research findings on the role of glial cells in both healthy function and disease. It will comprehensively cover a broad spectrum of topics while remaining compact in size.

A thrilling story of scientific detective work and medical potential that illuminates the newly understood role of microglia—an elusive type of brain cell that is vitally relevant to our everyday lives. “The rarest of books: a combination of page-turning discovery and remarkably readable science journalism.”—Mark Hyman, MD, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Food: What the Heck Should I Eat? NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY WIRED Until recently, microglia were thought to be helpful but rather boring: housekeeper cells in the brain. But a recent groundbreaking discovery has revealed that they connect our physical and mental health in surprising ways. When triggered—and anything that stirs up the immune system in the body can activate microglia, including chronic stressors, trauma, and viral infections—they can contribute to memory problems, anxiety, depression, and Alzheimer’s. Under the right circumstances, however, microglia can be coaxed back into being angelic healers, able to make brain repairs in ways that help alleviate symptoms and hold the promise to one day prevent disease. With the compassion born of her own experience, award-winning journalist Donna Jackson Nakazawa illuminates this newly understood science, following practitioners and patients on the front lines of treatments that help to “reboot” microglia. In at least one case, she witnesses a stunning recovery—and in others, significant relief from pressing symptoms, offering new hope to the tens of millions who suffer from mental, cognitive, and physical health issues. Hailed as a “riveting,” “stunning,” and “visionary,” The Angel and the Assassin offers us a radically reconceived picture of human health and promises to change everything we thought we knew about how to heal ourselves.