Cited by 465Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchStress Responses and CortisolNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Glial cell abnormalities in major psychiatric disorders: the evidence and implications

Cotter, David R, Pariante, Carmine M, Everall, Ian P·2001·Brain Research Bulletin

Abstract

Recent quantitative post-mortem investigations of the cerebral cortex have convincingly demonstrated cortical glial cell loss in subjects with major depression. Evidence is also mounting that glial cell loss may also be a feature of schizophrenia. These findings coincide with a re-evaluation of the importance of glial cells in normal cortical function. In addition to their traditional roles in neuronal migration and inflammatory processes, glia are now accepted to have roles in providing trophic support to neurons, neuronal metabolism, and the formation of synapses and neurotransmission. Consequently, reduced cortical glial cell numbers could be responsible for some of the pathological changes in schizophrenia and depression, including reduced neuronal size, reduced levels of synaptic proteins, and abnormalities of cortical neurotransmission. Additionally, as astrocytes provide the energy requirements of neurons, deficient astrocyte function could account for aspects of the functional magnetic imaging abnormalities found in these disorders. We discuss the possible basis of glial cell loss in these disorders and suggest that elevated levels of glucocorticoids, due to illness-related stress or to hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal may down-regulate glial activity and so predispose to, or exacerbate psychiatric illness through enhanced excitotoxicity. The potential therapeutic impact of agents which up-regulate glial activity or normalise glial cell numbers is a…

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/s0361-9230(01)00527-5

Cites

8 of 8 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Some studies did not find abnormalities in the number of GFAP-stained cells or GFAP levels in MDD or BD cases.

    “Furthermore, other studies did not find abnormalities in the number of GFAP-stained cells or GFAP levels in MDD or BD cases (Webster et al, 2001;Cotter et al, 2001b)”

    From Neurocircuitry of Mood Disorders (2010) · cites this paper as Cotter et al, 2001b

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Cotter, D. R., Pariante, C. M., & Everall, I. P.
Affiliations
King's College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Cotter, David R
Venue
Brain Research Bulletin
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2001-07
Volume
55
Issue
5
Pages
585-595
ISSN
0361-9230 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1979008433
Cited by
465
References
8
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 23
FWCI
1.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Brain Research Bulletin (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
astrocytes, major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, cerebral cortex, cortical dysfunction, neurotransmission, synaptic proteins, neuronal metabolism, glucocorticoids, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, excitotoxicity
MeSH terms
Cerebral Cortex, Glucocorticoids, Humans, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Nerve Degeneration, Neuroglia, Psychotropic Drugs, Cell Death, Neurocognitive Disorders

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review