Npas4: Linking Neuronal Activity to Memory
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nihms769150.pdf
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383.6 KB
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Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Sun, Xiaochen
Lin, Yingxi
Date Issued
March 2016
Journal
Trends in Neurosciences
Publisher
Elsevier
Citation
Sun, Xiaochen, and Lin, Yingxi. “Npas4: Linking Neuronal Activity to Memory.” Trends in Neurosciences 39, 4 (April 2016): 264–275 © 2016 Elsevier Ltd
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Immediate-early genes (IEGs) are rapidly activated after sensory and behavioral experience and are believed to be crucial for converting experience into long-term memory. Neuronal PAS domain protein 4 (Npas4), a recently discovered IEG, has several characteristics that make it likely to be a particularly important molecular link between neuronal activity and memory: it is among the most rapidly induced IEGs, is expressed only in neurons, and is selectively induced by neuronal activity. By orchestrating distinct activity-dependent gene programs in different neuronal populations, Npas4 affects synaptic connections in excitatory and inhibitory neurons, neural circuit plasticity, and memory formation. It may also be involved in circuit homeostasis through negative feedback and psychiatric disorders. We summarize these findings and discuss their implications.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Graduate Program
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TINS.2016.02.003
