Electrical synapses coordinate activity in the suprachiasmatic nucleus

被引:149
作者
Long, MA
Jutras, MJ
Connors, BW [1 ]
Burwell, RD
机构
[1] Brown Univ, Dept Neurosci, Providence, RI 02912 USA
[2] Brown Univ, Dept Psychol, Providence, RI 02912 USA
关键词
D O I
10.1038/nn1361
中图分类号
Q189 [神经科学];
学科分类号
071006 ;
摘要
In the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the master circadian pacemaker, neurons show circadian variations in firing frequency. There is also considerable synchrony of spiking across SCN neurons on a scale of milliseconds, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. Using paired whole-cell recordings, we have found that many neurons in the rat SCN communicate via electrical synapses. Spontaneous spiking was often synchronized in pairs of electrically coupled neurons, and the degree of this synchrony could be predicted from the magnitude of coupling. In wild-type mice, as in rats, the SCN contained electrical synapses, but electrical synapses were absent in connexin36-knockout mice. The knockout mice also showed dampened circadian activity rhythms and a delayed onset of activity during transition to constant darkness. We suggest that electrical synapses in the SCN help to synchronize its spiking activity, and that such synchrony is necessary for normal circadian behavior.
引用
收藏
页码:61 / 66
页数:6
相关论文
共 52 条
[1]   Suprachiasmatic nucleus in the mouse: retinal innervation, intrinsic organization and efferent projections [J].
Abrahamson, EE ;
Moore, RY .
BRAIN RESEARCH, 2001, 916 (1-2) :172-191
[2]   The spatial dimensions of electrically coupled networks of interneurons in the neocortex [J].
Amitai, Y ;
Gibson, JR ;
Beierlein, M ;
Patrick, SL ;
Ho, AM ;
Connors, BW ;
Golomb, D .
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, 2002, 22 (10) :4142-4152
[3]   A neural circuit for circadian regulation of arousal [J].
Aston-Jones, G ;
Chen, S ;
Zhu, Y ;
Oshinsky, ML .
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE, 2001, 4 (07) :732-738
[4]   Phototransduction by retinal ganglion cells that set the circadian clock [J].
Berson, DM ;
Dunn, FA ;
Takao, M .
SCIENCE, 2002, 295 (5557) :1070-1073
[5]   A novel network of multipolar bursting interneurons generates theta frequency oscillations in neocortex [J].
Blatow, M ;
Rozov, A ;
Katona, I ;
Hormuzdi, SG ;
Meyer, AH ;
Whittington, MA ;
Caputi, A ;
Monyer, H .
NEURON, 2003, 38 (05) :805-817
[6]   NEURONAL SYNCHRONIZATION WITHOUT CALCIUM-DEPENDENT SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION IN THE HYPOTHALAMUS [J].
BOUSKILA, Y ;
DUDEK, FE .
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1993, 90 (08) :3207-3210
[7]   Circadian lessons from peripheral clocks: Is the time of the mammalian pacemaker up? [J].
Brandstaetter, R .
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 2004, 101 (16) :5699-5700
[8]   Prokineticin 2 transmits the behavioural circadian rhythm of the suprachiasmatic nucleus [J].
Cheng, MY ;
Bullock, CM ;
Li, CY ;
Lee, AG ;
Bermak, JC ;
Belluzzi, J ;
Weaver, DR ;
Leslie, FM ;
Zhou, QY .
NATURE, 2002, 417 (6887) :405-410
[9]  
CHRISTIE MJ, 1989, J NEUROSCI, V9, P3584
[10]  
Chu ZG, 2003, J NEUROSCI, V23, P96