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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Slice Preparation, Organotypic Tissue Culturing and Luciferase Recording of Clock Gene Activity in the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
Published on: February 15, 2011
Encoding le quattro stagioni within the mammalian brain: photoperiodic orchestration through the suprachiasmatic
W J Schwartz1, H O de la Iglesia, P Zlomanczuk
1Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester 01655, USA. william.schwartz@umassmed.edu
Abstract:
Within the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is a pacemaker that not only drives circadian rhythmicity but also directs the circadian organization of photoperiodic (seasonal) timekeeping. Recent evidence using electrophysiological, molecular, and genetic tools now strongly supports this conclusion. Important questions remain regarding the SCN's precise role(s) in the brain's photoperiodic circuits, especially among different species, and the cellular and molecular mechanisms for its photoperiodic "memory." New data suggesting that SCN "clock" genes may also function as "calendar" genes are a first step toward understanding how a photoperiodic clock is built from cycling molecules.
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