title: The effects of non-self-sustained oscillators on the en-trainment ability of the suprachiasmatic nucleus.
abstract: In mammals, the circadian rhythms of behavioral and physiological activities are regulated by an endogenous clock located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN is composed of ~20,000 neurons, of which some are capable of self-sustained oscillations, while the others do not oscillate in a self-sustainable manner, but show arrhythmic patterns or damped oscillations. Thus far, the effects of these non-self-sustained oscillatory neurons are not fully explored. Here, we examined how the proportion of the non-self-sustained oscillators affects the free running period under constant darkness and the ability to entrain to the light-dark cycle. We find that the proportion does not affect the free running period, but plays a significant role in the range of entrainment. We also find that its effect on the entrainment range depends on the region where the non-self-sustained oscillators are located. If the non-self-sustained oscillatory neurons are situated in the light-sensitive subregion, the entrainment range narrows when the proportion increases. If they are situated in the light-insensitive subregion, however, the entrainment range broadens with the increase of the proportion. We suggest that the heterogeneity within the light-sensitive and light-insensitive subregions of the SCN has important consequences for how the clock works.
authors.affiliation: Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China.
authors.forename: Changgui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: School of Information Science and Technology, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, P.R. China.|Big data research center, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Laboratory for Neurophysiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, 2300 RC, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jos H T
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Rohling
authors.affiliation: Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China.
authors.forename: Huijie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang