Fos/AP-1 as an Exemplar for the Study of Neuronal Activity-Dependent Gene Regulation

Discovery of the rapid induction of Fos transcription in response to synaptic stimuli inaugurated the study of neuronal activity-dependent gene regulation. In many ways Fos constitutes the archetypal activity-regulated gene, and its study has served as an exemplar for the broader investigation of neuronal activity-driven transcriptional responses. Here, we provide a historical perspective of the study of Fos as a neuronal activity-induced immediate-early gene, following the course of Fos studies as a lens through which to chart the growth of the wider field as it grappled with questions concerning the nature of rapid membrane-to-nucleus signaling, the ubiquity and scope of this form of activity-dependent regulation, and, ultimately, the contribution of these gene expression responses to activity-driven cellular and circuit-level processes.