Our research is focused on glial cells and their role in information processing in the normal and diseased brain. To unravel mechanisms underlying the hitherto ill-defined forms of neuron-glia interaction and better understand the impact of glial cell heterogeneity, we study different brain regions applying a combination of electrophysiological, molecular and imaging techniques. A main focus of our research is on the analysis of human epilepsy. Here we apply our methods to live hippocampal specimens obtained from neurosurgical treatment of patients suffering from pharmacoresistant temporal lobe epilepsy. In addition, animal models of epilepsy are used. The aim is to better understand the role of glial cells in initiation and progression of epileptogenesis, with the goal of developing new therapeutic approaches.