It has recently become clear that microglia, the immune cells of the central nervous system, are far more active in the healthy brain than previously thought. Microglia facilitate many stages of brain development by shaping neuronal connectivity via synaptic elimination. Dysfunction of these same processes likely underlies a wide range of neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Keywords: ATP; C1q; CX3CR1; P2Y12; complement; development; microglia; synaptic plasticity; synaptic pruning.