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The suprachiasmatic nucleus or nuclei (SCN) is a small region of the brain in the hypothalamus, situated directly above the optic chiasm. It is responsible for regulating sleep cycles in animals. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Reception of light inputs from photosensitive retinal ganglion cells allow it to coordinate the subordinate cellular clocks of the body ...
The axons of the ipRGCs belonging to the retinohypothalamic tract project directly, monosynaptically, to the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) via the optic nerve and the optic chiasm. [ a ] [ 2 ] The suprachiasmatic nuclei receive and interpret information on environmental light, dark and day length, important in the entrainment of the "body clock".
DeCoursey helped the scientific world understand the adaptive value of the mammalian biological clocks (found within the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)). From April 1997-October 1998 she set up an enclosure for approximately 74 chipmunks. 30 chipmunks had lesions in their SCN, 24 others were surgical control and 20 others were intact controls.
One postsynaptic target of ipRGCs is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, which serves as the circadian clock in an organism. ipRGCs release both pituitary adenylyl cyclase-activating protein (PACAP) and glutamate onto the SCN via a monosynaptic connection called the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT). [15]
One region includes a specific area of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), the location of the 'master circadian pacemaker'. [18] See SCN and circadian rhythm below. VIP in the pituitary helps to regulate prolactin secretion; it stimulates prolactin release in the domestic turkey. [19]
The core region of the SCN houses the majority of light-sensitive neurons. [8] From here, signals are transmitted via a nerve connection with the pineal gland that regulates various hormones in the human body. [9] There are specific genes that determine the regulation of circadian rhythm in conjunction with light. [8]
Gillette's research has shown that the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) generates ~24h neuronal oscillations in rat hypothalamic brain slice in vitro, [3] and she has investigated temporal windows of sensitivity to circadian phase-shifting by different resetting stimuli, including secondary messengers, hormones, and neuropeptide. [3]
PER2 is a member of the Period family of genes and is expressed in a circadian pattern in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the primary circadian pacemaker in the mammalian brain. Genes in this family encode components of the circadian clock, which regulates the daily rhythms of locomotor activity, metabolism, and behavior.