João Filipe Oliveira

We are doing it again!!!!

Save the date for the next in-person #AstrocyteCafe next June 3-5 (2026) in Pamplona (Spain)!

We can’t wait to see many of you in person again, thanks so much to the main local organizer @maitesolas.bsky.social ♥️

It was also an excellent opportunity to host Richard Robitaille from the Université de Montréal. Seeing Richard discussing with my student feels like seeing a fish in water.

I'm super proud of João Viana for his excellent PhD defense! João is a central and vital piece in my lab, and it felt like a walk in the park.
I'm thankful to Richard Robitaille, Albino Oliveira-Maia, and Sandra Vaz for the terrific discussion!
@icvs-uminho.bsky.social
@champalimaudr.bsky.social

I had a great time at the #Glial #Symposium of the @warsawgliacomm.bsky.social in Warsaw. Awesome presentations and excellent discussions with this emerging #glial community. I'm looking forward to the next endeavors and collaborations!
@szewczyklukasz.bsky.social

Meet our speakers at #WGC2025!
João de Oliveira will explore how astrocytes shape behavior, and Prof. Bożena Kamińska will discuss their plasticity in brain tumors.
Join us in Warsaw for cutting-edge brain science!
🧠 #Astrocyte #Hippocampus #NeuroOncology #GLIA #WGC
@joaofoliveira.bsky.social

ICVS researcher @joaofoliveira.bsky.social joined the Health Research Meeting 2025 on October 2–3 at Cap Roig as a @caixaresearch.bsky.social grantee. His project explores how astrocytes could help treat depression, highlighting the importance of mental health research in Europe.

Congratulations Francesco and Juli!

We're all set for the WGC Symposium 2025 — gear packed, excitement on! Are you ready? The countdown starts now... ⏳🎉 #WGC #symposium #Glia #glia2025

AstroWars: the return of the astrocytic metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 Abstract figure legend Astrocytes display higher expression levels of mGluR5 during postnatal development, being involved in synaptic plasticity, synaptogenesis and glutamate uptake. Expression level...

Surprising findings!
The lower levels of #mGluR5 expression in #astrocytes in #adulthood turn out to be essential for cortico-limbic circuit function, as we suggested in our review:
"AstroWars: the return of the astrocytic mGluR5"

@jphysiol.bsky.social #wiley
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Network Glia is happy to announce two upcoming meetings from our national networks:

Warsaw Glia Symposium (16–17 Oct, Warsaw)
@warsawgliacomm.bsky.social

Workshop, “Microglia: from gene to function" (3–7 Nov, Bordeaux)
https://www.networkglia.eu/activities/

Thrilled to fight for a therapeutic solution for #depression in our lab research, thanks to @caixaresearch.bsky.social
@icvs-uminho.bsky.social

Inspired by our beautiful image of #neuron-#astrocyte brain networks involved in #depression, which was chosen to celebrate #World #Mental #Health #Day
@icvs-uminho.bsky.social

Developing Brains on!

5/ Our findings highlight #astrocytes —not just neurons— as active players in #adult #brain #plasticity and #behavior. Astrocytic mGluR5 pathway is a promising target
🧠🔬 #Neuroscience #Astrocytes #mGluR5 #BrainPlasticity #Behavior #ScienceThread
@icvs-uminho.bsky.social
@institutocajal.bsky.social

4/ Next, we flipped the switch—overexpressed mGluR5 in hippocampal astrocytes. This enhanced behavior flexibility but impaired place memory. A double-edged effect.

3/ This pointed us to the #hippocampus as a key region. We then deleted mGluR5 specifically in hippocampal astrocytes using AAVs.
This affected both basal synaptic transmission and plasticity. Behaviorally, it reproduced anxiety and social deficits, plus long-term memory loss.

2/ So we deleted mGluR5 across the brain.
The result? Mice showed anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, reduced sociability, and impaired memory.

🧵1/ We explored how #astrocytes influence adult brain function using #genetic manipulation in #mice + #calcium #imaging + #exvivo #Ephys + #behavior.
First discovery: #adult mouse astrocytes show #robust mGluR5-dependent #calcium #signaling.
@samalves1510.bsky.social

This is happening tomorrow, see you all there!

What an outstanding meeting!
I was thrilled to participate in the #Health #Research Meeting 2025. Meeting other grantees and discussing the future of research in the international context, we sought a bright #future for Europe, one fostered by research, in these challenging times.
Thank you, CR!

Here is our constructive reflection on the announced Agency for Research and Innovation (AI2) for PT Science @publico.pt

"there will be no quality science without budgetary reinforcement and explicit protection of fundamental science."

@publico.pt

www.publico.pt/2025/08/19/c...

Interesting papers on the role of cell organelles in neuronal dendrites for calcium signaling Researchers utilize calcium imaging to track neuronal activity in the brain, highlighting the role of calcium as a signaling molecule. Recent studies investigate intracellular calcium dynamics, par…

New blog post, where I review some recent interesting papers on the role of cell organelles for neuronal calcium signaling: gcamp6f.com/2025/08/11/i...
Featuring work by @lorenabenedetti.bsky.social, O'Hare et al. and Lin et al.!

It was an awesome year for my team, with exciting "ups" and also some painful "downs".
Before a well-deserved vacation pause, we reflected and prepared for the future... together!
@icvs-uminho.bsky.social

📢 Call for Social Media Ambassadors!
Help us grow the #GLIA community online & get a free registration for GLIA 2027 in Bologna!
We're looking for 5 voices from the field – content, updates, community vibes.
⏰ Apply by Aug 26!
👉 secretariat@networkglia.eu

Astrocyte specification in the mouse septum is shaped by both developmental origin and local signals - Nature Neuroscience The relative contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to astrocyte heterogeneity is unknown. Using heterotropic transplantation of septal astrocytes with distinct lineage origins, we show that ...

Astrocyte specification in the mouse septum is shaped by both developmental origin and local signals

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A functional perspective on astrocyte heterogeneity Astrocytes are glial cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that perform an array of diverse functions that are essential for brain activity. Studies on the functional diversity of astrocytes sugge...

We have a new review out in TINS!

A functional perspective on astrocyte heterogeneity

www.cell.com/trends/neuro...

Astrocytic mGluR5 signaling tunes emotional and cognitive processing in the adult brain The hippocampus is a brain region involved in both emotion regulation and higher cognitive functions. Astrocytes have emerged as active modulators of synaptic activity, capable of sensing, integrating...

We are excited to share our latest work showing:
1 - the existence of robust #mGluR5-dependent #astrocytic Ca2+ signaling in the #adult #brain that
2 - is involved in processing of #emotional and #cognitive behaviors
Fruitful collab with Gertru Perea

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Interesting approach to provide an alternative view on the understanding of #astrocyte #network connections #across (classically described) #brain #regions.
Why does the brain need such alternative #highways?

This has been my first @gliameeting.bsky.social and it will definitely NOT be my last! Such a great conference on glia and an incredible opportunity to meet new people and old frieds with the same shared passion for glia biology. @institutocajal.bsky.social @csic.es @csicdivulga.bsky.social

It was great meeting you too! Let’s keep in touch!