Oligodendrocyte

An oligodendrocyte is a glial cell in the central nervous system that wraps axons in myelin, insulating them and speeding electrical signal conduction.

Myelination: The process of wrapping axons in myelin to electrically insulate them and support rapid signal conduction. Oligodendrocytes carry out myelination in the central nervous system.
Glial cell: A non-neuronal cell of nervous tissue that supports, protects, or regulates neurons. Oligodendrocytes are one specialized class of glial cell.
Demyelination: The loss or destruction of myelin around nerve fibers. Damage to oligodendrocytes can remove the myelin they maintain.
Neural stem cell: A self-renewing cell that can generate neurons and glial cells in the nervous system. Oligodendrocyte lineages ultimately arise from neural progenitor populations.
White matter: Nervous system tissue composed mainly of myelinated axons and supporting cells. Oligodendrocyte-made myelin gives much of the brain and spinal cord white matter its structure.
Myelin sheath: A multilayered membrane covering around an axon that limits current leakage and enables saltatory conduction. An oligodendrocyte extends membrane processes that form this insulating covering.
Axon: The long neuronal projection that carries electrical signals away from a neuron's cell body. Oligodendrocytes wrap axons rather than neuronal cell bodies.
Remyelination: The restoration of myelin sheaths after demyelination, often by newly matured oligodendrocytes. Oligodendrocyte precursor cells can replace damaged sheaths by differentiating and remyelinating axons.
Oligodendrogenesis: The production and maturation of oligodendrocytes from progenitor cells. This developmental process generates the cells that myelinate central nervous system axons.
Neural plasticity: The capacity of nervous system structure or function to change with experience, activity, or injury. Activity-dependent changes in oligodendrocytes and myelin can alter circuit function.

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