Activity Dependent Protein Transport from the Synapse to the Nucleus

It is widely accepted that signaling between synapses and neuronal nuclei regulates activity-dependent gene transcription that plays a crucial role in synaptic plasticity. However, despite many years of research, it is still essentially unclear how signals from distal synapses are transduced to the nucleus. Several studies in the past decade have proposed mechanisms of activity-dependent transport of synaptic proteins to the nucleus. In this chapter we will discuss these mechanisms and how this transport might couple in particular NMDAR activation to specific aspects of gene transcription.