Theresa Bartels1, David H. Rowitch1 and Omer Ali Bayraktar2 1Department of Paediatrics and Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0AW, United Kingdom 2Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, United Kingdom Correspondence: dhr25medschl.cam.ac.uk; ob5sanger.ac.uk

Mammalian astrocytes have regional roles within the brain parenchyma. Indeed, the notion that astrocytes are molecularly heterogeneous could help explain how the central nervous system (CNS) retains embryonic positional information through development into specialized regions into adulthood. A growing body of evidence supports the concept of morphological and molecular differences between astrocytes in different brain regions, which might relate to their derivation from regionally patterned radial glia and/or local neuron inductive cues. Here, we review evidence for regionally encoded functions of astrocytes to provide an integrated concept on lineage origins and heterogeneity to understand regional brain organization, as well as emerging technologies to identify and further investigate novel roles for astrocytes.