EDITORIAL:GLIA at 20 Years

The first issue of GLIA appeared 20 years ago.The journal will celebrate this land-mark quietly,but nonetheless it is with a great deal of pride and a certain amount of amazement that we look back over these two eventful decades.This epoch encapsulates the blossoming of glial research into a mainstream area of neuroscience.In fact,it would be virtually impossible for someone not scientifically active in the mid-80s to appreciate how limited our understanding of these cells was at the time.The early years of GLIA,however,provide a suitable time capsule for that period and serve as a useful reminder of how some of today's "big ideas" developed.That GLIA played a role,however modest,in advancing what is now one of the most exciting fields of brain research seems worth noting.

The first issue of GLIA appeared 20 years ago. The journal will celebrate this land-mark quietly, but nonetheless it is with a great deal of pride and a certain amount of amazement that we look back over these two eventful decades. This epoch encapsulates the blossoming of glial research into a mainstream area of neuroscience. In fact, it would be virtually impossible for someone not scientifically active in the mid-80s to appreciate how limited our understanding of these ceils was at the time. The early years of GLIA,however, provide a suitable time capsule for that period and serve as a useful reminder of how some of today＇s ＂big ideas＂ developed.