Setting the metabolic clock: integrating circadian and homeostatic pathways in the mediobasal hypothalamus

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Every day we must balance the internal needs of our body such as hunger and sleep with external demands such as varying availability of food, daylight etc. To cope with these varying challenges, an ancient part of our brain called the hypothalamus has evolved to contain internal 24h biological clocks that anticipate daily changes in the external world such that we are prepared for events such as sunrise and sunset. The hypothalamus has also evolved mechanisms that function like a thermostat to detect and act to correct imbalances in the body's energy and fluid levels. Unfortunately we do not know how the daily clock and homeostatic influences are combined and communicated by hypothalamic brain cells. In this proposal, we will use new technologies to monitor the electrical activity of hypothalamic brain cells and determine how daily clock and homeostatic influences are incorporated by these cells and how they respond to changes in the external world. Importantly, this research will also advance our understanding of how modern 24hr lifestyles (chronic shift work, jet lag, sleep deprivation) may be contributing to human diseases, such as metabolic syndrome.