Astrocytes as a cell population are not well defined and comprise a heterogeneous
population of cells. There are at least 9 different morphological variants which can coexist
within one given brain region. Human astrocytes have a considerably more complex
morphology as their rodent counterparts. There are also a number of functional differences
depending on brain region and developmental stage in the normal (not pathologic) brain.
Astrocytes can differ in functional gap junctional coupling, expression of transmitter …