Network organization of the circadian clock

位于下丘脑的生物钟调节着生理和行为的日常节奏。了解这个时钟是如何工作的是我研究计划的长期目标。我们知道，视交叉上核(SCN)中的生物钟包含许多特殊的细胞类型，每种细胞都扮演着特定的角色。这些不同的细胞群体共同构成了一个紧密相连的生物钟。时间生物学中两个相关而重要的问题是“这些细胞群体是如何联网形成一个有凝聚力的时钟的？”以及“这些网络是如何被经验修改的？”本提案的目的是首先阐明生物钟的网络属性，然后确定这些网络是如何通过经验来修改的。

A circadian clock located in the hypothalamus regulates daily rhythms of physiology and behaviour. Understanding how this clock functions is the long term goal of my research program. We know that the circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) contains a number of specialized cell types, each of which performs a specific role. Together, these different cell populations form a cohesive circadian clock. Two related and important questions in chronobiology are “How are these cell populations networked together to form a cohesive clock?” and “How are these networks modified by experience?” The goal of the present proposal is to first elucidate network properties of the circadian clock, and then to determine how these networks are modified by experience.