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Updated: Oct 7, 2026
Transmission Electron Microscopy as the Visualization Technique for Analysis of Circadian Synaptic Plasticity in the Mouse Barrel Cortex
Published on: August 19, 2025
A microglial circadian clock sculpts synapses during neurodevelopment
Annemarie J Carver1, Nicole R Zürcher2, Evan A Bordt1
1Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Lurie Center for Autism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Lexington, MA, USA.
Abstract:
In a recent study, Routh and colleagues demonstrated that the circadian clock regulates microglia-directed synaptic refinement during a critical period of neurodevelopment in mice, in a sex-dependent manner. Loss of the major circadian rhythm regulator, Bmal1, in microglia induced a proinflammatory state and excessive pruning of synapses, primarily in adolescent male mice.
