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Meal Duration as a Measure of Orofacial Nociceptive Responses in Rodents

Meal Duration as a Measure of Orofacial Nociceptive Responses in Rodents

Published on: January 10, 2014

Clocks and meals keep mice from being cool.

Vincent van der Vinne¹, Mark J Bingaman², David R Weaver³

¹Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA vincentvandervinne@gmail.com sswoap@williams.edu.

The Journal of Experimental Biology

|June 16, 2018

Summary

Small mammals use daily torpor to save energy. The circadian clock, not food timing, primarily controls when torpor occurs, typically late at night.

Keywords:

Body temperature Circadian rhythm Clock mutant Energetic savings Metabolism Suprachiasmatic nucleus

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Area of Science:

Physiology
Chronobiology
Metabolic regulation

Background:

Daily torpor is a strategy for small mammals to conserve energy during challenging conditions.
The precise timing of daily torpor is crucial for maximizing energetic benefits, usually occurring late at night or early morning.
The regulatory mechanisms governing torpor timing, specifically the roles of the circadian clock and feeding schedules, remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To differentiate the influence of the circadian clock versus food intake timing on the temporal regulation of daily torpor in mice.
To elucidate the underlying mechanisms controlling the initiation and maintenance of daily torpor bouts.

Main Methods:

Utilized feeding cycles independent of the circadian range in mice.
Employed brain-specific mutations of circadian clock genes (Vgat-Cre) to investigate clock gene function.
Observed the effects of feeding patterns and circadian clock mutations on torpor occurrence and timing.

Main Results:

The circadian clock is the primary determinant of daily torpor timing, restricting initiation to the late subjective night.
Feeding transiently inhibits torpor, preventing or interrupting bouts for 4-6 hours post-meal.
Torpor initiation was unlikely to resume after interruption until the subsequent circadian active phase.

Conclusions:

The central circadian clock gates the timing of daily torpor, ensuring it occurs during a specific circadian phase.
Feeding acts as a transient inhibitor of torpor, overriding the circadian influence for a limited period.
Understanding these regulatory mechanisms is key to comprehending energy balance strategies in small mammals.