Fatty diets and obesity affect the structure and function of astrocytes, the star-shaped brain cells located in the striatum, a brain region involved in the perception of pleasure generated by food consumption. What is even more surprising is that by manipulating these astrocytes in vivo in mice can influence metabolism and correct certain cognitive changes associated with obesity (ability to relearn a task, for example). These results, described by scientists from the CNRS and the Université Paris Cité, are to be published on 7 July in the journal Nature Communication.
These discoveries reinforce the idea that astrocytes (long neglected in favour of neurons) play a key role in brain function. They also demonstrate, for the first time, the ability of astrocytes to restore cognitive function in the context of obesity, opening up new avenues of research to identify their exact role in energy metabolism.
These conclusions were reached using a combination of ex vivo and in vivo approaches in rodents, including chemogenetic techniques, brain imaging, locomotion tests, cognitive behavior and measuring the body's energy metabolism.
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Journal reference:
Montalban, E., et al. (2025). Striatal astrocytes modulate behavioral flexibility and whole-body metabolism in mice. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60968-y.
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