Abstract
The properties of glial cells are overviewed. The word of glia covers all the non-excitable cells in nervus system and consists of astrocyte, oligodendrocyte, Schwann's cell and microglia. The physiological function of glial cells has been considered to be restricted to long term neuronal function such as physical protection of neurons and metabolism, but recent development of Ca imaging technology revealed the dynamic change of glial ghysiology and the relationship of glial cells to the central problems in neuroscience such as synaptic transmission and its plasticity. Cell culture system has been the main approach to glial cell function, but the development of technology to access the glial cell property in neuronal tissue is in progress.
