The brain is a complex structure comprised of a number of specialised cell types. Our lab is interested in how different cell types in the brain influence each other’s properties. A particular interest is in the interactions between neurons and glia, especially astrocytes and microglia. These cell types are subject to regulation by neurons as well as in turn influencing neuronal properties themselves. The talk will provide an overview of examples of reciprocal signaling between neurons and glia during brain development, and the extent to which they influence each other’s functional properties. In later-life neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, glia can play a role both as upstream modulator and downstream effector of  protein mis-folding pathology, such as that involving ß-amyloid and tau. Examples of recent work that help illuminate this will be shown, as well as the potential for manipulation of glial cells to alter neurodegenerative disease trajectory.