Adult Neurogenesis under Control of the Circadian System

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

The mammalian circadian system is a hierarchically organized system, which controls a 24-h periodicity in a wide variety of body and brain functions and physiological processes. There is increasing evidence that the circadian system modulates the complex multistep process of adult neurogenesis, which is crucial for brain plasticity. This modulatory effect may be exercised via rhythmic systemic factors including neurotransmitters, hormones and neurotrophic factors as well as rhythmic behavior and physiology or via intrinsic factors within the neural progenitor cells such as the redox state and clock genes/molecular clockwork. In this review, we discuss the role of the circadian system for adult neurogenesis at both the systemic and the cellular levels. Better understanding of the role of the circadian system in modulation of adult neurogenesis can help develop new treatment strategies to improve the cognitive deterioration associated with chronodisruption due to detrimental light regimes or neurodegenerative diseases.

Related collections

Most cited references 212

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Mechanisms and functional implications of adult neurogenesis.

Chunmei Zhao, Wei Deng, Fred Gage (2008)

The generation of new neurons is sustained throughout adulthood in the mammalian brain due to the proliferation and differentiation of adult neural stem cells. In this review, we discuss the factors that regulate proliferation and fate determination of adult neural stem cells and describe recent studies concerning the integration of newborn neurons into the existing neural circuitry. We further address the potential significance of adult neurogenesis in memory, depression, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

0 comments Cited 845 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

More hippocampal neurons in adult mice living in an enriched environment.

G Kempermann, H Kuhn, F H Gage (1997)

Neurogenesis occurs in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus throughout the life of a rodent, but the function of these new neurons and the mechanisms that regulate their birth are unknown. Here we show that significantly more new neurons exist in the dentate gyrus of mice exposed to an enriched environment compared with littermates housed in standard cages. We also show, using unbiased stereology, that the enriched mice have a larger hippocampal granule cell layer and 15 per cent more granule cell neurons in the dentate gyrus.

0 comments Cited 637 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

The orphan nuclear receptor REV-ERBalpha controls circadian transcription within the positive limb of the mammalian circadian oscillator.

Nicolas Preitner, Francesca Damiola, Luis-Lopez-Molina … (2002)

Mammalian circadian rhythms are generated by a feedback loop in which BMAL1 and CLOCK, players of the positive limb, activate transcription of the cryptochrome and period genes, components of the negative limb. Bmal1 and Per transcription cycles display nearly opposite phases and are thus governed by different mechanisms. Here, we identify the orphan nuclear receptor REV-ERBalpha as the major regulator of cyclic Bmal1 transcription. Circadian Rev-erbalpha expression is controlled by components of the general feedback loop. Thus, REV-ERBalpha constitutes a molecular link through which components of the negative limb drive antiphasic expression of components of the positive limb. While REV-ERBalpha influences the period length and affects the phase-shifting properties of the clock, it is not required for circadian rhythm generation.