Circadian regulation articles from across Nature Portfolio

The central circadian circuit’s role in integrating temperature changes is not fully understood. Here, the authors demonstrate that temperature-sensitive DN1a circadian neurons in the Drosophila brain bidirectionally influence downstream circadian neurons, regulating temperature-dependent physiological activities.

This Perspective proposes that shift work adaptation occurs within-shift, over a block of shifts, or over a shift working career and offers physical activity as an accessible countermeasure to support adaptation across these timeframes.

Dopp et al. profiled gene expression in single cells from the whole fly brain, revealing how it changes with sleep/wakefulness states and circadian times. The findings highlight the role of glia in integrating sleep drive and circadian processes.

In this Stage 2 Registered Report, Blume et al. report results of a study on the contribution of colour vision mechanisms to circadian modulation by light.

Neuroscientists have long believed that hunger increases activity in agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons to regulate feeding-related behaviors and metabolism, but a new study shows that the story is much more complicated. Sayar-Atasoy and colleagues show that the time of day uncouples activity in AgRP neurons from hunger and demonstrate how daily feeding patterns influence future AgRP neuron activity.

Cardiac disease drives the denervation of the pineal gland, resulting in a loss of neural control of melatonin release and disrupted sleep–wake patterns.

In mice, aggression is regulated by the circadian suprachiasmatic nucleus through at least two neural pathways.