Suprachiasmatic Nucleus: Cell Autonomy and Network Properties

By David K. Welsh, J. Takahashi, Steve A. Kay. Annual Review of Physiology, 2010

1,210 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is the primary circadian pacemaker in mammals. Individual SCN neurons in dispersed culture can generate independent circadian oscillations of clock gene expression and neuronal firing. However, SCN rhythmicity depends on sufficient membrane depolarization and levels of intracellular calcium and cAMP. In the intact SCN, cellular oscillations are synchronized and reinforced by rhythmic synaptic input from other cells, resulting in a reproducible topographic pattern of distinct phases and amplitudes specified by SCN circuit organization. The SCN network synchronizes its component cellular oscillators, reinforces their oscillations, responds to light input by altering their phase distribution, increases their robustness to genetic perturbations, and enhances their precision. Thus, even though individual SCN neurons can be cell-autonomous circadian oscillators, neuronal network properties are integral to normal function of the SCN.

Subfields: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Endocrine and Autonomic Systems, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/1e00e7bd7303172c117f0298c09e73215d06fc4c

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

1. T. Scammell
2. E. Arrigoni
3. J. Lipton
4. U. Albrecht
5. C. Green
6. J. Takahashi

In Endocrine and Autonomic Systems

1. C. Green
2. U. Albrecht
3. J. Takahashi
4. J. Lipton
5. J. Mohawk
6. T. Scammell
7. E. Arrigoni

In Plant Science

1. U. Albrecht
2. J. Takahashi
3. C. Green
4. T. Scammell
5. E. Arrigoni
6. J. Lipton

Citations in the corpus

• CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL CIRCADIAN CLOCKS IN MAMMALS (2012, background): “Early work on mammalian rhythms used rhythmic behavior as a readout of the clock, and the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) was identified as the dominant circadian pacemaker driving behavioral rhythms (Welsh et al. 2010).”
• Neural Circuitry of Wakefulness and Sleep (2017, positive): “…is organized by the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus (SCN), which is both necessary and sufficient for orchestrating circadian timing of sleep/wake behavior, metabolism, and physiology in synchronywith changes in the light/dark cycle (Marcheva et al., 2013; Welsh et al., 2010).”
• Timing to perfection: the biology of central and peripheral circadian clocks. (2012, background): “Intercellular signaling: vasointestinal peptide (VIP, purple dots); arginine vasopressin (AVP, black dots); gammaaminobutyric acid (GABA, red dots); gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP, yellow dots) and gap junctions are involved (for details see text).”