ReviewAstrocytes: Orchestrating synaptic plasticity?

•Astrocytic gliotransmission is a possible mechanism for regulation synaptic of plasticity.•Gliotransmitters may regulate short- and long-term synaptic plasticity.•Synaptic scaling and redistribution may depend on astrocytic gliotransmission.•Astrocytes are potential integrators in space and time of neural activity and plasticity.•Astrocytes may orchestrate various plasticity mechanisms guarding network function and stability.

Synaptic plasticity is the capacity of a preexisting connection between two neurons to change in strength as a function of neural activity. Because synaptic plasticity is the major candidate mechanism for learning and memory, the elucidation of its constituting mechanisms is of crucial importance in many aspects of normal and pathological brain function. In particular, a prominent aspect that remains debated is how the plasticity mechanisms, that encompass a broad spectrum of temporal and spatial scales, come to play together in a concerted fashion. Here we review and discuss evidence that pinpoints to a possible non-neuronal, glial candidate for such orchestration: the regulation of synaptic plasticity by astrocytes.