Transcriptional Regulation by Neuronal Activity

Regulation of gene transcription by neuronal activity is evident in a large number of neuronal processes ranging from neural development and refinement of neuronal connections to learning and response to injury. In the field of activity-dependent gene expression, rapid progress is being made that can impact these, and many other areas of neuroscience. The major aim of Transcriptional Regulation by Neuronal Activity: To the Nucleus and Back is to illustrate key advances in the field – specifically how signals are transmitted to the nucleus in response to neuronal activity, what genes are activated and how this is achieved, and how these changes in gene expression alter neuronal function. About the Author: Serena M. Dudek, Ph.D. is best known for her seminal work describing Long-term synaptic Depression (LTD) in the hippocampus. Dr. Dudek heads the Synaptic and Developmental Plasticity Group at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, where her laboratory studies the cellular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in the adult and developing mammalian brain. Although once a critic of the proposed necessity of transcription for maintenance of synaptic plasticity, Dr. Dudek now devotes much of her time to work on the topic.