Frontiers Non-neuronal Cells and Information Processing

Brain function is made possible by an interconnected structure of neurons, glia and microvessels relying on exchange of information with one another as well as with the extracellular compartment. This communication engenders the phenomenon of the mind, frequently referred to as the mental trilogy: cognition (thinking), emotion (assigning value to stimuli), and motivation (setting and achieving goals) (1). In order to accomplish these tasks the brain utilizes over 100 billion cells and 600 km of microvessels (2) embedded in an extracellular matrix (ECM) of proteins, polysaccharides and interstitial fluid (ISF) (3). As we are getting well into the 21st century, it has become clearer that the mind is the product of the brain, just as the body movement is the product of the musculoskeletal system. With the same token, it is clearer and clearer that psychiatric disorders are disruptions of cellular or molecular communication in brain networks.