Afferent Regulation of Circadian Rhythms

9728574昼夜节律的传入调节大多数(如果不是全部的话)生物体的日常活动与地球一天的昼夜循环同步。在哺乳动物等高级生物体中，这种同步是通过大脑中一个称为视交叉上核的小区域的神经细胞网络来完成的。这种神经网络形成了一个“生物钟”，作为哺乳动物的主要计时机制，并确保所有生理系统是同步的。现在很明显，哺乳动物的生物钟并不是独立运作的，而是S的生物钟可以受到大脑其他区域的输入的影响。这项研究试图确定这些其他大脑区域的激活如何影响生物钟的计时。这项研究的结果可能会证明，视交叉上核中的生物钟是哺乳动物大脑中更大的起搏系统的一部分，并且在向身体发出同步信号之前，该生物钟整合了来自其他大脑区域的输入。这项研究还将通过获得可用于研究和教学的新工具，以及通过雇用本科生参与为实现这项建议的目标而进行的研究的各个方面，大大加强对本科生的科学培训。

9728574 Gannon Afferent Regulation of Circadian Rhythms Most, if not all, living organisms synchronize the daily activity with the day-night cycle of an earth day. This synchronization is accomplished in higher-order organisms, such as mammals, by a network of neural cells in a small region of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. This neural network forms a "biological clock" that acts as the dominant time-keeping mechanism in mammals, and ensures that all physiological body systems are in synchrony. It is now becoming apparent that the biological clock in mammals does not act independently, but rather the clock' s timing can be influenced by input from other regions of the brain. This study seeks to identify how activation of these other brain regions can affect the timing of the biological clock. The results of this investigation will likely demonstrate that the biological clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus is part of a larger pacemaker system in the mammalian brain, and that the clock integrates input from other brain regions before sending out a synchronizing signal to the body. This study will also significantly enhance the training of undergraduate students in the sciences, both by the acquisition of new tools which can be utilized for research and teaching, and by employing undergraduate students in every aspect of the research performed in accomplishing the objectives of this proposal.