The mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus encodes irradiance via a diverse population of neurons monotonically tuned to different ranges of intensity.

ABSTRACT: Many neurons of the mammalian master circadian oscillator in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) respond to light pulses with irradiance-dependent changes in firing. Here, we set out to better understand this irradiance coding ability by considering how the SCN tracks more continuous changes in irradiance at both population and single unit level. To this end, we recorded extracellular activity in the SCN of anaesthetised mice presented with up + down irradiance staircase stimuli covering moonlight to daylight conditions and incorporating epochs with steady light or superimposed higher frequency modulations (temporal white noise (WN) and frequency/contrast chirps). Single unit activity was extracted by spike sorting. The population response of SCN units to this stimulus was a progressive incre

SUBMITTER: Orlowska-Feuer P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10953322 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature