Origins and Transformations of Signals for Circadian Regulation

项目总结 地球的自转使我们的环境发生了深刻的变化。实际上，身体的每一个组织都是 通过内部计时机制--生物钟--与这种节奏同步。去同步 情绪、认知和生理受损--在倒班工作和时差反应中常见。适当地暴露于 光可以将时钟与太阳日重新校准，并可以逆转这些损害。我们开发了一种新的 方法进入连接眼睛和大脑主时钟的通路。我们建议定义如何 信息在视网膜内产生，随后在进入时钟电路时进行转换。我们预计 提供生理学如何与环境周期相适应的知识，以及 视网膜和大脑。

PROJECT SUMMARY The earth’s rotation drives profound changes in our environment. Practically every tissue of the body is synchronized to this rhythm by an internal timekeeping mechanism, the circadian clock. Desynchronization impairs mood, cognition, and physiology—commonly experienced in shift work and jet lag. Proper exposure to light realigns the clock with the solar day and can reverse these impairments. We have developed a new method to access the pathway that joins the eye with the master clock in the brain. We propose to define how information is generated within the retina and subsequently transformed as it enters clock circuitry. We expect to provide knowledge of how physiology is tuned to environmental cycles, and of the division of labor between retina and brain.