(FY 92 AASERT) Augmentation of Research Training in Chronobiology: Regulation of the Mammalian Circadian Clock by Neurotransmitters.
Abstract
Seven young scientists benefited from research training in our lab due to this AFOSR-sponsored AASERT. Each made significant contribution to our overall research aim to elucidate the cellular organization and regulation of the brain's biological clock. This structure controls daily (circadian) rhythms of behavior (e.g., performance), physiology and metabolism in mammals. The clock, located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), survived for up to 4 days in a hypothalamic brain slice where its properties were directly probed. By applying this technique to SCN from inbred rats, trainees made progress in demonstrating that: (1) glutamate and nitric oxide mediate light-induced phase-resetting of the clock at night, but not day; (2) nocturnal activation of this pathway leads to phosphorylation of the transactivational site on nuclear Ca+2/cAMP response element binding protein (CREB); (3) glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), the biosynthetic enzyme for GABA, oscillates; (4) NPY can modulate serotonergic phase-shifts in daytime; (5) SCN neuronal activity rhythms can be monitored continuously by a carbon fiber bundle electrode; (6) neuronal nitric oxide synthase.(nNOS) is the dominant SCN isoform. This project involved both individual and interactive research projects at the University of Illinois and the USAF School for Aerospace Medicine.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 04, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA316454
Entities
People
- Martha U. Gillette
Organizations
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign