Sexual dimorphic circuits in photoperiodic encoding and photic processing

项目摘要/摘要 光通过仍然不明确的电路来调节神经功能，并且仍然存在显著的 在了解两性大脑的光可塑性方面的需求尚未得到满足。例如，季节变化在 白天的长度(即光周期)调节睡眠、注意力、食欲、新陈代谢、情绪和免疫功能 发生在大量人群中，高达80%是女性。视交叉上核(SCN)驱动 昼夜节律和光周期对光的反应，但我们对性别差异的理解存在很大差距 在SCN光处理和光周期处理中。我们的初步数据表明，昼夜节律和光周期 不同性别的反应不同，雌性对由发散的SCN介导的光的行为反应更大 电路。基于这些数据，我们提出了男性之间光加工不同的中心假说 雌性是因为视网膜-SCN环路是性二态的。我们将测试生物性别的影响 细胞对光的反应(Aim1)、光周期对日长的反应(AIM2)和神经适应 SCN电路(Aim3)。这些研究将受益于这个合作研究团队的集体专业知识， 专门研究视网膜生理学、SCN网络特性、细胞成像和计算分析。 与性别差异无关，这些研究的成功完成将为神经学提供新的见解 光处理和光周期编码的机制，以促进两性的理解。 此外，这项工作预计将提供对更好地了解疾病至关重要的信息 由其他形式的光引起的干扰(例如，轮班、时差)。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Light regulates neurological function through circuits that remain poorly defined, and there remains a significant unmet need in understanding photic plasticity in the brain of both sexes. For example, seasonal changes in day length (i.e., photoperiod) modulate sleep, attention, appetite, metabolism, mood, and immune function occur in a large number of people, with up to 80% being women. The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) drives circadian and photoperiodic responses to light, but there is a large gap in our understanding of sex differences in SCN photic and photoperiodic processing. Our preliminary data indicate that circadian and photoperiodic responses differ by sex, with females display larger behavioral responses to light mediated by divergent SCN circuits. Based on these data, we propose the central hypothesis that photic processing differs between males and females because the retina-SCN circuit is sexual dimorphic. We will test that biological sex influences cellular responses to light (Aim1), photoperiodic responses to day length (Aim2), and neural adaptations in SCN circuits (Aim3). These studies will benefit from the collective expertise of this collaborative research team, which specializes in retinal physiology, SCN network properties, cellular imaging, and computational analyses. Independent of sex differences, successful completion of these studies will provide novel insights into neural mechanisms of photic processing and photoperiodic encoding to advance understanding in both sexes. Further, this work is expected to provide information that will be critical to better understanding diseases incurred by other forms of light-induced disruption (e.g., shiftwork, jetlag).