Neurobiology of Circadian Rhythms

昼夜节律的神经生物学

• 批准号: 9209437
• 负责人: Antonio Nunez
• 金额: $ 12.5万
• 依托单位: Michigan State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1992
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1992-08-01 至 1995-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9209437&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Neurobiology; Circadian; Rhythms

The mammalian suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus is the anatomical substrate for a circadian biological clock that controls many overt rhythms in physiology and behavior. The mechanism(s) responsible for the generation of circadian rhythmicity by the suprachiasmatic nucleus is (are) unknown. It is known, however, that the ability to generate action potentials is not necessary for the workings of the circadian clock. Therefore, other forms of intercellular communications must mediate circadian-rhythm generation. Dr. Nunez will examine the possibility that the interaction between neurons and glial cells of the suprachiasmatic nucleus is critical. Using electronmicroscopy, he will determine whether plasticity in glial cell morphology over the circadian cycle impacts on inter-neuronal communications and, thus, impose circadian rhythmicity on the neural outputs of the suprachiasmatic nucleus. The concept of biological timing rivals that of homeostasis as an organizing principle in contemporary biology. Understanding the basic neural mechanisms may lead to treatments that could help solve problems caused by jet lag, shift work and sleep disorders in the elderly. Indeed, in so far as circadian rhythm studies will ultimately have an impact on virtually all areas of human endeavor distributed across the seasons and phases of the day, this work may have a direct effect on the nation's scientific and engineering research, education and human resources bases.

哺乳动物下丘脑的视交叉上核是昼夜节律生物钟的解剖基础，控制着生理和行为中的许多明显节律。 视交叉上核产生昼夜节律的机制尚不清楚。 然而，众所周知，产生动作电位的能力对于生物钟的工作并不是必需的。 因此，其他形式的细胞间通讯必须介导昼夜节律的产生。 努涅斯博士将研究视交叉上核的神经元和神经胶质细胞之间的相互作用至关重要的可能性。 使用电子显微镜，他将确定神经胶质细胞形态在昼夜周期中的可塑性是否影响神经元间的通讯，从而对视交叉上核的神经输出施加昼夜节律。 生物计时的概念与体内平衡的概念相媲美，作为当代生物学的组织原则。 了解基本的神经机制可能有助于解决老年人因时差、轮班工作和睡眠障碍引起的问题。事实上，就昼夜节律研究最终将对人类活动的几乎所有领域产生影响而言，这项工作可能会对国家的科学和工程研究、教育和人力资源基础产生直接影响。