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Star-shaped brain cells may underpin the brain's massive memory storage

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A new study suggests astrocytes may play a more central role in memory than previously thought.

Astrocytes are star-shaped cells that perform many maintenance tasks in the brain.

They don't transmit electrical impulses like neurons do.

Instead, they communicate via calcium signaling, sending waves of charged calcium particles.

Astrocytes are known to be implicated in Alzheimer's and other memory disorders.

The model could help researchers create brain-like hardware systems, de Pittà said.

Such systems could use dense memory architectures that enable them to store huge amounts of information and recall it efficiently, using very little energy.