The GFAPTg;Gfap+/R236H mouse model of AxD provides a means to assess the contribution of astrocytes to a neurological disorder, and in recent years there has been a growing body of evidence indicating that astrocytes play a critical role in the pathological processes occurring in other neurological conditions including autism (8), epilepsy (9), ALS (10, 70), MDD (11), TBI (12), Huntington disease (70), and multiple sclerosis (65). The gene discussed is GFAP; the disease is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.