Journal of Neuroscience. Clearance of glutamate inside the synapse and beyond. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. Glutamatergic synapses on oligodendrocyte precursor cells in the hippocampus. A, Confocal image of an astrocyte located in the CA1 region of the hippocampus that has been filled with the fluorescent dye Cy5-EDA through a patch pipette.
Astrocytes have a complex morphology with numerous fine processes that ensheath synapses.
B, Glutamate transporter currents recorded in an outside-out patch that was removed from a hippocampal astrocyte. These results indicate that astrocyte transporters have a cycle time of approximately 10ms at physiological temperatures.