Sexual dimorphic circuits in photoperiodic encoding and photic processing

项目总结/摘要 光通过仍然不明确的回路调节神经功能，并且仍然存在显著的 在理解两性大脑的光可塑性方面尚未满足的需求。例如， 日长（即，光周期）调节睡眠、注意力、食欲、新陈代谢、情绪和免疫功能 发生在很多人身上，高达80%的人是女性。视交叉上核（SCN） 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光和光周期处理中。我们的初步数据表明，昼夜节律和光周期 反应因性别而异，女性对由发散SCN介导的光表现出更大的行为反应 电路.基于这些数据，我们提出了一个中心假设，即光处理在男性之间是不同的 和女性，因为视网膜-SCN电路是两性异形的。我们将测试生物性别对 细胞对光的反应（Aim 1），光周期反应（Aim 2）和神经适应， SCN电路（Aim 3）。这些研究将受益于这个合作研究小组的集体专业知识， 其专长于视网膜生理学、SCN网络特性、细胞成像和计算分析。 独立于性别差异，这些研究的成功完成将为神经系统疾病提供新的见解。 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信息，将是至关重要的，以更好地了解疾病 由其它形式的光诱导破坏引起（例如，轮班工作、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).