How Oligodendrocytes Help The Brain Function

Abstract

Imagine you had a really important message that you had to deliver to your friend as quickly as possible. Would you send your friend a handwritten letter through the postal service that would arrive in a few days? Or would you send an email, which gets delivered almost instantly? A neuron’s job is to speedily send messages across the brain, spinal cord, and body. Neurons receive help with performing this important job from another kind of cell, called oligodendrocytes. In this article, we describe how oligodendrocytes help neurons rapidly send their messages, and how scientists are trying to protect and replace oligodendrocytes that are damaged in diseases like multiple sclerosis, or after a brain injury.