**Astrocytes: The Unsung Heroes of Brain Memory Revealed by New Model**

A groundbreaking study has unveiled the potential of astrocytes, star-shaped brain cells, in enhancing the brain's memory capacity. Published in May in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" (PNAS), the research proposes an innovative model of memory that could explain the vast storage capabilities of the human brain.

Astrocytes, which coexist with neurons in the brain, have traditionally been recognized for their role in cleaning up neurotransmitters at synapses—junction points where neurons connect. With billions of these cells present in the brain, their function was initially thought to be limited to maintenance tasks. However, recent studies have begun to shed light on their broader capabilities.

The new model, discussed in the PNAS article, posits that astrocytes could be integral to brain computation. By interacting closely with neurons and forming connections between synapses, astrocytes might play a crucial role in forming dense networks essential for encoding memories. These neuron-astrocyte networks potentially expand the brain's memory capacity far beyond what neurons alone could achieve.

"This makes neuron-astrocyte networks an exciting candidate for biological 'hardware' implementing Dense Associative Memory," the research team asserts. This model challenges the dominant theory that memory storage is confined to synapses, suggesting instead that the brain can store even more memories than previously believed.

The team, led by Dmitry Krotov from the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab and IBM Research, offers methods for validating this theory experimentally. "We hope that one of the consequences of this work could be that experimentalists would consider this idea seriously and perform some experiments testing this hypothesis," Krotov commented in a news release.

In addition to its implications for neuroscience, the model might inspire advancements in artificial intelligence technology, providing a "fresh source of inspiration" for future AI developments. The insights gleaned from understanding astrocytes' roles could pave the way for more advanced and efficient AI systems, modeled after the intricate workings of the human brain.