RUI: Deep Brain Photoreceptors.

繁殖的季节性周期是由环境的光照水平来调节的，称为光信号。 眼睛不是光的唯一探测器;许多动物也有光的敏感性在松果体高兴的头部。 然而，在哺乳动物以外的许多脊椎动物中，这些调节信号的受体实际上是大脑本身的光敏细胞。 这些“脑深部光感受器”是已知存在的，但它们尚未被明确定位和识别。 这项工作将使用生物化学，电生理学和解剖学的方法来定位和识别这些细胞在鸟类的大脑中，显示周期性的季节性繁殖。 特异性抗体结合测试可以标记含有类似于蛋白质视蛋白的化合物的细胞，视蛋白是已知的色素的一部分。 电生理记录确定这些识别的细胞对光刺激的反应。 电子显微镜显示了这些细胞与下丘脑中控制激素分泌的神经细胞之间的详细联系。 这项研究的结果将产生超越感觉神经科学的影响，对行为的昼夜节律调节和繁殖周期与环境线索的生态关系问题产生影响。

Seasonal cycles of reproduction are regulated by environmental cues of light levels, called photic cues. The eyes are not the only detectors of light; many animals also have light sensitivity in the pineal glad within the head. However, in many vertebrates other than mammals, the receptors for these regulatory cues are actually light-sensitive cells within the brain itself. These "deep brain photoreceptors" are known to exist, but they have not yet been positively localized and identified. This work will use biochemical, electrophysiological and anatomical approaches to localize and identify these cells in the brains of birds that show cyclic seasonal breeding. Specific antibody-binding tests can label cells that contain compounds resembling the protein opsin, part of a known photopigment. Electrophysiological recording determines the responses of these identified cells to light stimuli. Electron microscopy shows the detailed connections from these cells to nerve cells in the hypothalamus controlling hormone secretions. Results from this study will have impact beyond sensory neuroscience, to issues of circadian regulation of behavior and the ecological relationship of breeding cycles to environmental cues.