The suprachiasmatic nucleus: a 25-year retrospective
- PMID: 9554572
- DOI: 10.1177/074873098128999952
The suprachiasmatic nucleus: a 25-year retrospective
Abstract
The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the anterior hypothalamus contain the master circadian pacemaker in mammals. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the discovery of the SCN as the circadian clock, Charles A. Czeisler and Steven M. Reppert organized a meeting to review milestones and recent developments in the study of the SCN. The discovery that the SCN contain tissue necessary for generation of circadian rhythmicity was established by lesion studies published in 1972. The second phase of study demonstrated unequivocally that the SCN contain an autonomous circadian pacemaker. The principal studies in this period showed the presence of metabolic and electrical activity rhythms in the SCN in vivo and progressed to studies showing that the SCN maintain rhythmicity in vitro, demonstrating that the transplanted SCN can restore circadian function following destruction of the host SCN and ultimately showing that single SCN "clock cells" exhibit independent rhythms in firing rate. The third phase of study, aimed at identifying the biochemical and molecular mechanisms responsible for rhythmicity within the SCN, has begun with the identification of circadian mutants (tau mutant hamsters and Clock mutant mice) and the isolation of the Clock gene. This report traces the important steps forward in our understanding of the suprachiasmatic circadian clock by recounting the information presented at the SCN Silver Anniversary Celebration.
Similar articles
-
Clock controls circadian period in isolated suprachiasmatic nucleus neurons.Nat Neurosci. 1998 Dec;1(8):708-13. doi: 10.1038/3708. Nat Neurosci. 1998. PMID: 10196587
-
Mutant circadian period as a marker of suprachiasmatic nucleus function.J Biol Rhythms. 1993;8 Suppl:S93-8. J Biol Rhythms. 1993. PMID: 8274768 Review.
-
Synchronisation mechanisms of circadian rhythms in the suprachiasmatic nucleus.IET Syst Biol. 2009 Mar;3(2):100-12. doi: 10.1049/iet-syb.2007.0057. IET Syst Biol. 2009. PMID: 19292564
-
Dispersed cell suspensions of fetal SCN restore circadian rhythmicity in SCN-lesioned adult hamsters.Brain Res. 1990 Aug 13;525(1):45-58. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(90)91319-c. Brain Res. 1990. PMID: 2245325
-
Pharmacological and genetic approaches for the study of circadian rhythms in mammals.Front Neuroendocrinol. 1995 Jul;16(3):191-223. doi: 10.1006/frne.1995.1007. Front Neuroendocrinol. 1995. PMID: 7556850 Review.
Cited by
-
Circadian rhythms: influence on physiology, pharmacology, and therapeutic interventions.J Pharmacokinet Pharmacodyn. 2021 Jun;48(3):321-338. doi: 10.1007/s10928-021-09751-2. Epub 2021 Apr 1. J Pharmacokinet Pharmacodyn. 2021. PMID: 33797011 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Endocannabinoid signalling: has it got rhythm?Br J Pharmacol. 2010 Jun;160(3):530-43. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2010.00790.x. Br J Pharmacol. 2010. PMID: 20590563 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Circadian expression of clock genes in human oral mucosa and skin: association with specific cell-cycle phases.Am J Pathol. 2001 May;158(5):1793-801. doi: 10.1016/S0002-9440(10)64135-1. Am J Pathol. 2001. PMID: 11337377 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
AMPK regulates circadian rhythms in a tissue- and isoform-specific manner.PLoS One. 2011 Mar 31;6(3):e18450. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018450. PLoS One. 2011. PMID: 21483791 Free PMC article.
-
Effects of general anesthesia on behavioral circadian rhythms and clock-gene expression in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in rats.Histochem Cell Biol. 2022 Aug;158(2):149-158. doi: 10.1007/s00418-022-02113-0. Epub 2022 May 25. Histochem Cell Biol. 2022. PMID: 35614272
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
