Origins and Transformations of Signals for Circadian Regulation

项目摘要 地球的自转使我们的环境发生了深刻的变化。几乎身体的每一个组织 通过内部的计时机制，生物钟，与这种节奏同步。去同步 损害情绪、认知和生理--通常在轮班工作和时差中经历。适当暴露于 光会使时钟与太阳日重新对齐，并能逆转这些缺陷。我们已经开发出一种新 方法来访问连接眼睛和大脑中主时钟的路径。我们建议定义如何 信息在视网膜内产生，并且随后在其进入时钟电路时被变换。我们预计 提供生理学如何适应环境周期的知识，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.