title: A new era for functional labeling of neurons: activity-dependent promoters have come of age.
abstract: Genetic labeling of neurons with a specific response feature is an emerging technology for precise dissection of brain circuits that are functionally heterogeneous at the single-cell level. While immediate early gene mapping has been widely used for decades to identify brain regions which are activated by external stimuli, recent characterization of the promoter and enhancer elements responsible for neuronal activity-dependent transcription have opened new avenues for live imaging of active neurons. Indeed, these advancements provided the basis for a growing repertoire of novel experiments to address the role of active neuronal networks in cognitive behaviors. In this review, we summarize the current literature on the usage and development of activity-dependent promoters and discuss the future directions of this expanding new field.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurochemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawashima
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurochemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okuno
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurochemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo Tokyo, Japan ; Core Research for Evolutionary Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Haruhiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bito
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017781:Genes, Immediate-Early / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic
keywords: Arc; E-SARE; activity-dependent gene expression; c-fos; live imaging; neuronal ensemble