Photic desynchronization of two subgroups of circadian oscillators in a network model of the suprachiasmatic nucleus with dispersed coupling strengths.
The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is the master circadian clock in mammals and is composed of thousands of neuronal oscillators expressing different intrinsic periods. These oscillators form a coupled network with a free-running period around 24 h in constant darkness and entrainable to the external...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2012-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3353964?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1819078528701825024 |
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| author | Changgui Gu Zonghua Liu William J Schwartz Premananda Indic |
| author_facet | Changgui Gu Zonghua Liu William J Schwartz Premananda Indic |
| author_sort | Changgui Gu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is the master circadian clock in mammals and is composed of thousands of neuronal oscillators expressing different intrinsic periods. These oscillators form a coupled network with a free-running period around 24 h in constant darkness and entrainable to the external light-dark cycle (T cycle). Coupling plays an important role in setting the period of the network and its range of entrainment. Experiments in rats have shown that two subgroups of oscillators within the SCN, a ventrolateral (VL) subgroup that receives photic input and a dorsomedial (DM) subgroup that is coupled to VL, can be desynchronized under a short (22-h) T cycle, with VL entrained to the cycle and DM free-running. We use a modified Goodwin model to understand how entrainment of the subgroups to short (22-h) and long (26-h) T cycles is influenced by light intensity, the proportion of neurons that receives photic input, and coupling heterogeneity. We find that the model's critical value for the proportion of photically-sensitive neurons is in accord with actual experimental estimates, while the model's inclusion of dispersed coupling can account for the experimental observation that VL and DM desynchronize more readily under the 22-h than under the 26-h T cycle. Heterogeneous intercellular coupling within the SCN is likely central to the generation of complex behavioral patterns. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7312fefaa02e4817b1e9ea85993c74cf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T19:14:32Z |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
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| spelling | doaj.art-7312fefaa02e4817b1e9ea85993c74cf2022-12-21T18:53:06ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-0175e3690010.1371/journal.pone.0036900Photic desynchronization of two subgroups of circadian oscillators in a network model of the suprachiasmatic nucleus with dispersed coupling strengths.Changgui GuZonghua LiuWilliam J SchwartzPremananda IndicThe suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is the master circadian clock in mammals and is composed of thousands of neuronal oscillators expressing different intrinsic periods. These oscillators form a coupled network with a free-running period around 24 h in constant darkness and entrainable to the external light-dark cycle (T cycle). Coupling plays an important role in setting the period of the network and its range of entrainment. Experiments in rats have shown that two subgroups of oscillators within the SCN, a ventrolateral (VL) subgroup that receives photic input and a dorsomedial (DM) subgroup that is coupled to VL, can be desynchronized under a short (22-h) T cycle, with VL entrained to the cycle and DM free-running. We use a modified Goodwin model to understand how entrainment of the subgroups to short (22-h) and long (26-h) T cycles is influenced by light intensity, the proportion of neurons that receives photic input, and coupling heterogeneity. We find that the model's critical value for the proportion of photically-sensitive neurons is in accord with actual experimental estimates, while the model's inclusion of dispersed coupling can account for the experimental observation that VL and DM desynchronize more readily under the 22-h than under the 26-h T cycle. Heterogeneous intercellular coupling within the SCN is likely central to the generation of complex behavioral patterns.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3353964?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Changgui Gu Zonghua Liu William J Schwartz Premananda Indic Photic desynchronization of two subgroups of circadian oscillators in a network model of the suprachiasmatic nucleus with dispersed coupling strengths. PLoS ONE |
| title | Photic desynchronization of two subgroups of circadian oscillators in a network model of the suprachiasmatic nucleus with dispersed coupling strengths. |
| title_full | Photic desynchronization of two subgroups of circadian oscillators in a network model of the suprachiasmatic nucleus with dispersed coupling strengths. |
| title_fullStr | Photic desynchronization of two subgroups of circadian oscillators in a network model of the suprachiasmatic nucleus with dispersed coupling strengths. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Photic desynchronization of two subgroups of circadian oscillators in a network model of the suprachiasmatic nucleus with dispersed coupling strengths. |
| title_short | Photic desynchronization of two subgroups of circadian oscillators in a network model of the suprachiasmatic nucleus with dispersed coupling strengths. |
| title_sort | photic desynchronization of two subgroups of circadian oscillators in a network model of the suprachiasmatic nucleus with dispersed coupling strengths |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3353964?pdf=render |
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