Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

The human hypothalamus: comparative morphometry and photoperiodic influences.

M A Hofman1, D F Swaab

  • 1Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Amsterdam.

Progress in Brain Research
|January 1, 1992
PubMed
Summary

The hypothalamus regulates vital functions like feeding, reproduction, and temperature. Its suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) shows seasonal size and cell variations, indicating environmental light influences biological rhythms.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Prefrontal alterations in GABAergic and glutamatergic gene expression in relation to depression and suicide.

Journal of psychiatric research·2018
Same author

TUB gene expression in hypothalamus and adipose tissue and its association with obesity in humans.

International journal of obesity (2005)·2017
Same author

Prefrontal changes in the glutamate-glutamine cycle and neuronal/glial glutamate transporters in depression with and without suicide.

Journal of psychiatric research·2016
Same author

Brain alterations in depression.

Acta neuropsychiatrica·2016
Same author

Different stress-related gene expression in depression and suicide.

Journal of psychiatric research·2015
Same author

Hypothalamic alterations in Huntington's disease patients: comparison with genetic rodent models.

Journal of neuroendocrinology·2014

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Endocrinology
  • Chronobiology

Background:

  • The hypothalamus, a small brain region, controls crucial physiological, endocrine, and behavioral processes.
  • Its size correlates with brain size across mammals, but the human hypothalamus is larger than predicted by body mass.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of specific hypothalamic nuclei in physiological regulation and biological rhythms.
  • To examine seasonal variations in the human suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and their potential link to environmental photoperiod.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative morphometric analysis of the hypothalamus in mammals.
  • Investigation of the sexually dimorphic nucleus (SDN-POA) and suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in neural control.
  • Morphological analysis of the human SCN in relation to seasonal photoperiod variations.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • The hypothalamus integrates systems for feeding, drinking, reproduction, sleep-wake cycles, and temperature regulation.
  • The human SCN exhibits significant seasonal variation, being twice as large in autumn as in summer.
  • Autumnal human SCN samples contained over twice the number of vasopressin immunoreactive neurons compared to summer samples.

Conclusions:

  • The hypothalamus contains critical integrative systems for numerous bodily functions.
  • The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) acts as the central biological clock, influenced by environmental light.
  • Seasonal changes in the human SCN morphology suggest its involvement in adapting circadian and seasonal rhythms to photoperiod.