An important new chapter in Neuroscience

Neuroscience began an important new chapter in the 1980s when it was demonstrated that the induction of cFos occurred in response to the stimulation of acetylcholine receptors in neuron like cells. Transcription of cfos commenced within minutes and involved an influx of extracellular Ca2+ through voltage-sensitive calcium channels. Neuronal activity in many neuron types and brain regions led to the induction of many genes on various time scales. The first to be activated were called immediate early genes (IEGs), which include the Fos family cfos, fosB, fra1, fra2, and several isoforms. A short form of fosB called ΔFosB resisted degradation and was thought to play a role in inducing changes in neurons associated with addiction. The protein products of many IEGs act as transcription factors which are important in neurons of the central nervous system for their roles in neuronal plasticity, exemplified by learning and memory, addiction and several neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression. In this article experimental data and the biochemical processes underlying the pathways which lead to such transcription are described as a prelude to modeling.