Yves Agid - Glial Man: A Revolution in Neuroscience

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Oxford University Press 2021

Illustrations by Yves Agid.

ODILE JACOB, 2018

Originally published as LHOMME GLIAL: Une rvolution dans les sciences du cerveau,

Yves Agid et Pierre Magistretti, ODILE JACOB, 2018

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First Edition published in 2020

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020944416

ISBN 9780198847670

eISBN 9780192587015

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Yves Agid:this book was written, in large part, while I stayed abroad with friends in Martinique, first at the home of Claude Archambault (La Clmasol) and then in the company of Marie-Jose and John Persenda (Pointe Royale). I thank them wholeheartedly for their hospitality. Thanks also go to Agns Renard who guided and supported me throughout this long period of writing.

Pierre Magistretti: many thanks to Christine, who has accompanied me throughout my 35-year glial journey.

Both authors:we are indebted to all those, who in one way or another, helped us see this book to completion; in particular we acknowledge the input of Andreas Hartmann, Jean-Lon Thomas, and Bernard Zalc. Thanks are also due Monica Navarro Suarez for compiling the references and, finally, our gratitude goes to Odile Jacob for editing and publishing the French edition of this manuscript and to Marie-Lorraine Colas for help in making it readable.

The translatorof this English edition, Robert N. Cory, would like to express his gratitude to Mary Thaler, PhD, for her invaluable editorial assistance throughout this project; and to Martin Baum (Oxford University Press) and Shuichiro Takeda for their encouragement and support.

Why do we need a different approach to understanding the human brain? And what do we mean when we use the phrase glial man? If we want to understand how systems function, whether mechanical or living, we need to be absolutely clear about their components. Presumably everyone knows what the brain is, and most have heard that it is composed of neurons. The word neuron has become such a part of our everyday vocabulary that a French politician, in response to a biting interview question, exclaimed: give me credit for having at least two neurons to rub together! It wouldnt have occurred to him to say . . . two glial cells!