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The brain's calendar:neural mechanisms ofseasonal timing Michel A. Hofman2004 год

The brain's calendar: neural mechanisms of seasonal timing
review

Страница публикацииПубликация в OpenAlex
Аннотация: ABSTRACT The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus is the principal component of the mammalian biological clock, the neural timing system that generates and coordinates a broad spectrum of physiological, endocrine and behavioural circadian rhythms. The pacemaker of the SCN oscillates with a near 24 h period and is entrained to the diurnal light‐dark cycle. Consistent with its role in circadian timing, investigations in rodents and non‐human primates furthermore suggest that the SCN is the locus of the brain's endogenous calendar, enabling organisms to anticipate seasonal environmental changes. The present review focuses on the neuronal organization and dynamic properties of the biological clock and the means by which it is synchronized with the environmental lighting conditions. It is shown that the functional activity of the biological clock is entrained to the seasonal photic cycle and that photoperiod (day length) may act as an effective zeitgeber. Furthermore, new insights are presented, based on electrophysiological and molecular studies, that the mammalian circadian timing system consists of coupled oscillators and that the clock genes of these oscillators may also function as calendar genes. In summary, there are now strong indications that the neuronal changes and adaptations in mammals that occur in response to a seasonally changing environment are driven by an endogenous circadian clock located in the SCN, and that this neural calendar is reset by the seasonal fluctuations in photoperiod.
Год издания: 2004
Авторы: Michel A. Hofman
Издательство: Wiley
Источник: Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
Ключевые слова: Circadian rhythm and melatonin, Sleep and Wakefulness Research, Photoreceptor and optogenetics research
Другие ссылки: Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society (HTML)
PubMed (HTML)