Review
Nature Reviews Neuroscience 4, 649-661 (August 2003) | doi:10.1038/nrn1177
A clockwork web: circadian timing in brain and periphery, in health and disease
Michael H. Hastings1, Akhilesh B. Reddy1 & Elizabeth S. Maywood1 About the authors
Abstract
The hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) are our principal circadian oscillator, coordinating daily cycles of physiology and behaviour that adapt us to the world. Local versions of the SCN clockwork are also active in peripheral, non-neural tissues, driving the tissue-specific cycles of gene expression that underpin circadian organization. These local oscillators are tuned to each other, and to solar time, by neuroendocrine and metabolic cues that depend on the SCN. The discovery of these local circadian clocks forces a re-appraisal of established models of circadian biology. It also presents new avenues for therapeutic intervention in conditions where disturbance of circadian gene expression is an important cause of morbidity.
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Author affiliations
- Division of Neurobiology, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QH, UK.
Correspondence to: Michael H. Hastings1 Email: mha@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk
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