Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine
Department of Developmental Neuroscience

A joint paper (Nature Neuroscience, 2022) has been published by Tohoku University. This report indicates that phagocytosis of parts of neurons (including synapses) by glial cells may play an important role in memory consolidation.

Research News
Nibbling Synapses: Glial Cells Eating of Synapses May Enhance Learning and Memory
https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/press/nibbling_synapses.html

Article Information:
Yosuke M. Morizawa, Mami Matsumoto, Yuka Nakashima, Narumi Endo, Tomomi Aida, Hiroshi Ishikane, Kaoru Beppu, Satoru Moritoh, Hitoshi Inada, Noriko Osumi, Eiji Shigetomi, Schuichi Koizumi, Guang Yang, Hirokazu Hirai, Kohichi Tanaka, Kenji F. Tanaka, Nobuhiko Ohno, Yugo Fukazawa & Ko Matsui
Synaptic pruning through glial synapse engulfment upon motor learning
Nature Neuroscience, (2022)

Available from:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-022-01184-5