Activity-Dependent NPAS4 Expression and the Regulation of Gene Programs Underlying Plasticity in the Central Nervous System
The capability of the brain to change functionally in response to sensory experience is most active during early stages of development but it decreases later in life when major alterations of neuronal network structures no longer take place in response to experience. This view has been recently chal...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2013-01-01
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| Series: | Neural Plasticity |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/683909 |
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| _version_ | 1832565901684113408 |
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| author | José Fernando Maya-Vetencourt |
| author_facet | José Fernando Maya-Vetencourt |
| author_sort | José Fernando Maya-Vetencourt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The capability of the brain to change functionally in response to sensory experience is most active during early stages of development but it decreases later in life when major alterations of neuronal network structures no longer take place in response to experience. This view has been recently challenged by experimental strategies based on the enhancement of environmental stimulation levels, genetic manipulations, and pharmacological treatments, which all have demonstrated that the adult brain retains a degree of plasticity that allows for a rewiring of neuronal circuitries over the entire life course. A hot spot in the field of neuronal plasticity centres on gene programs that underlie plastic phenomena in adulthood. Here, I discuss the role of the recently discovered neuronal-specific and activity-dependent transcription factor NPAS4 as a critical mediator of plasticity in the nervous system. A better understanding of how modifications in the connectivity of neuronal networks occur may shed light on the treatment of pathological conditions such as brain damage or disease in adult life, some of which were once considered untreatable. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-09238c46677c4a4da2e1169262e8ec49 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-5904 1687-5443 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Neural Plasticity |
| spelling | doaj-art-09238c46677c4a4da2e1169262e8ec492025-02-03T01:05:32ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432013-01-01201310.1155/2013/683909683909Activity-Dependent NPAS4 Expression and the Regulation of Gene Programs Underlying Plasticity in the Central Nervous SystemJosé Fernando Maya-Vetencourt0Centre for Nanotechnology Innovation, Italian Institute of Technology, Piazza San Silvestro 12, 56127 Pisa, ItalyThe capability of the brain to change functionally in response to sensory experience is most active during early stages of development but it decreases later in life when major alterations of neuronal network structures no longer take place in response to experience. This view has been recently challenged by experimental strategies based on the enhancement of environmental stimulation levels, genetic manipulations, and pharmacological treatments, which all have demonstrated that the adult brain retains a degree of plasticity that allows for a rewiring of neuronal circuitries over the entire life course. A hot spot in the field of neuronal plasticity centres on gene programs that underlie plastic phenomena in adulthood. Here, I discuss the role of the recently discovered neuronal-specific and activity-dependent transcription factor NPAS4 as a critical mediator of plasticity in the nervous system. A better understanding of how modifications in the connectivity of neuronal networks occur may shed light on the treatment of pathological conditions such as brain damage or disease in adult life, some of which were once considered untreatable.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/683909 |
| spellingShingle | José Fernando Maya-Vetencourt Activity-Dependent NPAS4 Expression and the Regulation of Gene Programs Underlying Plasticity in the Central Nervous System Neural Plasticity |
| title | Activity-Dependent NPAS4 Expression and the Regulation of Gene Programs Underlying Plasticity in the Central Nervous System |
| title_full | Activity-Dependent NPAS4 Expression and the Regulation of Gene Programs Underlying Plasticity in the Central Nervous System |
| title_fullStr | Activity-Dependent NPAS4 Expression and the Regulation of Gene Programs Underlying Plasticity in the Central Nervous System |
| title_full_unstemmed | Activity-Dependent NPAS4 Expression and the Regulation of Gene Programs Underlying Plasticity in the Central Nervous System |
| title_short | Activity-Dependent NPAS4 Expression and the Regulation of Gene Programs Underlying Plasticity in the Central Nervous System |
| title_sort | activity dependent npas4 expression and the regulation of gene programs underlying plasticity in the central nervous system |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/683909 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT josefernandomayavetencourt activitydependentnpas4expressionandtheregulationofgeneprogramsunderlyingplasticityinthecentralnervoussystem |