We know that seasonal changes in the amount of daylight we get can have a significant impact on us – such as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), for example.
), the brain region also inside the hypothalamus which helps manage stress, metabolism, the immune system, biological growth and more.Illustration showing how light affects neural activity.
"We revealed novel molecular adaptations of the SCN-PVN network in response to day length in adjusting hypothalamic function and daily behavior,"In both mice and humans, the SCN is part of the brain's timekeeping mechanisms, in charge of the physical, mental, and behavioral circadian rhythms that follow a 24-hour pattern. The SCN is controlled by special photosensitive cells in the retina, passing on information about available light and the length of each day.
What's not clear – and what this study offers a major insight into – is how the small group of 20,000 or so neurons in the SCN react in response to the data that's coming in about day length.
The study is an example of how scientists are able to dig deeper, to the level of molecular mechanisms, using discoveries that have already been made. One of the next steps will be to see if the same mechanisms are at work in the human brain. "The multi-synaptic neurotransmitter switching we showed in this study might provide the anatomical/functional link mediating the seasonal changes in mood and the effects of light therapy,"
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