Photoperiodic Programming of the SCN and Its Role in Photoperiodic Output.

Photoperiodic Programming of the SCN and Its Role in Photoperiodic Output.
Neural Plast. 2018;2018:8217345
Authors: Tackenberg MC, McMahon DG
Abstract
Though the seasonal response of organisms to changing day lengths is a phenomenon that has been scientifically reported for nearly a century, significant questions remain about how photoperiod is encoded and effected neurobiologically. In mammals, early work identified the master circadian clock, the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), as a tentative encoder of photoperiodic information. Here, we provide an overview of research on the SCN as a coordinator of photoperiodic responses, the intercellular coupling changes that accompany that coordination, as well as the SCN's role in a putative brain network controlling photoperiodic input and output. Lastly, we discuss the importance of photoperiodic research in the context of tangible benefits to human health that have been realized through this research as well as challenges that remain.
PMID: 29552032 [PubMed - in process]

Source: Neural Plasticity - March 21, 2018 Category: Neurology Authors: Tackenberg MC, McMahon DG Tags: Neural Plast Source Type: research