RUI: Deep Brain Photoreceptors.

繁殖的季节周期是由光水平的环境信号调节的，称为光信号。眼睛并不是光的唯一探测器；许多动物头部的松果体也对光线敏感。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内部的光敏细胞。这些“大脑深部光感受器”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、电生理和解剖学的方法来定位和识别这些细胞在鸟类的大脑中表现出周期性的季节性繁殖。特异性抗体结合试验可以标记含有类似于视蛋白的化合物的细胞，视蛋白是已知光色素的一部分。电生理记录确定了这些被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控制激素分泌的下丘脑神经细胞之间的详细连接。该研究结果的影响将超越感觉神经科学，涉及行为的昼夜节律调节以及繁殖周期与环境线索的生态关系。

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.