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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Oct 6.
Published in final edited form as: Neuron. 2011 Oct 6;72(1):22–40. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2011.09.018

Figure 4. Neuronal activity regulates transcription-dependent dendrite growth.

Figure 4

Activity-dependent gene expression is regulated at multiple levels. Neuronal activity leading to calcium influx via voltage-sensitive calcium channels or NMDA receptors leads to the activation of CaMKK and downstream kinases CaMKIγ CaMKIV, or CaMKIIα to regulate transcription factors that control dendrite growth. Activation of CaMKIγ or CaMKIV leads to phosphorylation and activation of CREB, whereas CaMKIIα phosphorylates NeuroD and induces NeuroD-dependent transcription. A number of transcriptional regulators (TR) including CBP, CREST, TORC1 and CRTC1 associate and regulate CREB-dependent transcription. In another layer of regulation, epigenetic mechanisms, including chromatin modification by the chromatin remodeling complex nBAF have a critical role in activity-dependent dendrite growth. CREST associates with the nBAF complex and regulates the expression of a number of genes important for dendrite growth. The complex interplay between transcription factors, transcriptional regulators and chromatin modifying enzymes that regulate gene expression in response to neuronal activity remains to be elucidated.