Astrocytes and neuropsychiatric symptoms in neurodegenerative diseases: Exploring the missing links

Lucile Ben Haim (1) , Carole Escartin (1)

1 LMN - Laboratoire des Maladies Neurodégénératives - UMR 9199

Neurodegenerative diseases (ND) are characterized by primary symptoms such as cognitive or motor deficits. In addition, the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in ND patients is being increasingly acknowledged as an important disease feature. Yet, their neurobiological basis remains unclear and mostly centered on neurons while overlooking astrocytes, which are crucial regulators of neuronal function underlying complex behaviors. In this opinion article, we briefly review evidence for NPS in ND and discuss their experimental assessment in preclinical models. We then present recent studies showing that astrocyte-specific dysfunctions can lead to NPS. Because many astrocyte alterations are also observed in ND, we suggest that they might underlie NDassociated NPS. We argue that there is a need for dedicated preclinical studies assessing astrocytebased therapeutic strategies targeting NPS in the context of ND.

Keywords: Neuron-astrocyte interactions; depressive-like symptoms; cell-specific targeting; neuronal networks; animal models; behavioral tests

Domains: Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]

Lucile Ben Haim, Carole Escartin. Astrocytes and neuropsychiatric symptoms in neurodegenerative diseases: Exploring the missing links. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 2022, 72, pp.63-71. ⟨10.1016/j.conb.2021.09.002⟩. ⟨cea-03872715⟩