A riot of rhythms: neuronal and glial circadian oscillators in the mediobasal hypothalamus

Endogenous circadian rhythms of clock gene expression were observed in specific brain regions outside the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN).

• Rhythms of PER2::LUC expression were detected in the arcuate and dorsomedial nuclei of the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH).
• Single cells did not maintain long-term synchrony, leading to a damping of oscillations at both cell and tissue levels.
• Electrophysiology recordings indicated rhythmic neuronal activity in both the arcuate and dorsomedial nuclei.
• Circadian rhythms were also present in the ependymal layer of the third ventricle and the median eminence/pars tuberalis.
• A high-fat diet did not alter molecular oscillations in the MBH, while food deprivation changed the phase in the median eminence/pars tuberalis.

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