title: Melanopsin in cells of origin of the retinohypothalamic tract.
abstract: All known eukaryotic organisms exhibit physiological and behavioral rhythms termed circadian rhythms that cycle with a near-24-hour period; in mammals, light is the most potent stimulus for entraining endogenous rhythms to the daily light cycle. Photic information is transmitted via the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT) to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus, where circadian rhythms are generated, but the retinal photopigment that mediates circadian entrainment has remained elusive. Here we show that most retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) that project to the SCN express the photopigment melanopsin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Gooley
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Scammell
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Saper
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D055537:Light Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D017299:Rod Opsins / Q000235:genetics*; D013266:Stilbamidines; D013493:Suprachiasmatic Nucleus / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000099210:Melanopsin
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017299:Rod Opsins; D013266:Stilbamidines; D000099210:Melanopsin; C049774:2-hydroxy-4,4'-diamidinostilbene, methanesulfonate salt