Abstract
Many diverse behaviors exhibit clear circadian rhythms in their expression. In mammals, these rhythms originate from a neural circadian clock located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). Recently, signaling pathways activated by light in the SCN have begun to be identified. A specific set of immediate-early genes is induced by light in the SCN, and their expression is correlated with the resetting of circadian behavioral rhythms. These light- regulated immediate-early genes offer multiple inroads into the biology of the SCN: first, they are functional markers for the activation of SCN neurons by light; second, they can direct us to the upstream light-activated (and clock-regulated) signal transduction pathways which mediate their induction; and finally, they encode transcription factor proteins which may play a role in the molecular mechanism of resetting the circadian clock.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 221-240 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Behavior Genetics |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 1996 |
Keywords
- CREB
- Fos
- Suprachiasmatic nucleus
- circadian rhythms
- cyclic AMP-response element
- immediate-early gene
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Genetics(clinical)
- Genetics
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics