RUI: Deep Brain Photoreceptors.

RUI：深部脑感光器。

• 批准号: 9511300
• 负责人: Rae Silver
• 金额: $ 22.67万
• 依托单位: Barnard College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1995
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1995-08-01 至 1999-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9511300&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Deep; Brain; Photoreceptors.

Seasonal cycles of reproduction are regulated by environmental cues of light levels, called photic cues. The eyes are not the only detectors of light; many animals also have light sensitivity in the pineal glad within the head. However, in many vertebrates other than mammals, the receptors for these regulatory cues are actually light-sensitive cells within the brain itself. These "deep brain photoreceptors" are known to exist, but they have not yet been positively localized and identified. This work will use biochemical, electrophysiological and anatomical approaches to localize and identify these cells in the brains of birds that show cyclic seasonal breeding. Specific antibody-binding tests can label cells that contain compounds resembling the protein opsin, part of a known photopigment. Electrophysiological recording determines the responses of these identified cells to light stimuli. Electron microscopy shows the detailed connections from these cells to nerve cells in the hypothalamus controlling hormone secretions. Results from this study will have impact beyond sensory neuroscience, to issues of circadian regulation of behavior and the ecological relationship of breeding cycles to environmental cues.

繁殖的季节性周期受光水平的环境提示（称为光学提示）调节。 眼睛不是光的唯一探测器。许多动物在头部的松果体上也具有光敏度。 但是，在哺乳动物以外的许多脊椎动物中，这些调节性线索的受体实际上是大脑本身内的光敏细胞。 已知这些“深脑光感受器”存在，但尚未得到积极定位和鉴定。 这项工作将使用生化，电生理和解剖方法来定位和鉴定这些细胞在鸟类的大脑中，这些细胞显示出循环季节性繁殖。 特定的抗体结合测试可以标记包含类似于蛋白质Opsin的化合物的细胞，这是已知的照片的一部分。 电生理记录确定了这些已鉴定的细胞对光刺激的反应。 电子显微镜显示了控制激素分泌的下丘脑中这些细胞与神经细胞的详细连接。 这项研究的结果将影响超越感觉神经科学，对行为调节以及繁殖周期与环境线索的生态关系的问题。