Colour as a signal for entraining the mammalian circadian clock
- PMID: 25884537
- PMCID: PMC4401556
- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002127
Colour as a signal for entraining the mammalian circadian clock
Abstract
Twilight is characterised by changes in both quantity ("irradiance") and quality ("colour") of light. Animals use the variation in irradiance to adjust their internal circadian clocks, aligning their behaviour and physiology with the solar cycle. However, it is currently unknown whether changes in colour also contribute to this entrainment process. Using environmental measurements, we show here that mammalian blue-yellow colour discrimination provides a more reliable method of tracking twilight progression than simply measuring irradiance. We next use electrophysiological recordings to demonstrate that neurons in the mouse suprachiasmatic circadian clock display the cone-dependent spectral opponency required to make use of this information. Thus, our data show that some clock neurons are highly sensitive to changes in spectral composition occurring over twilight and that this input dictates their response to changes in irradiance. Finally, using mice housed under photoperiods with simulated dawn/dusk transitions, we confirm that spectral changes occurring during twilight are required for appropriate circadian alignment under natural conditions. Together, these data reveal a new sensory mechanism for telling time of day that would be available to any mammalian species capable of chromatic vision.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Cones Support Alignment to an Inconsistent World by Suppressing Mouse Circadian Responses to the Blue Colors Associated with Twilight.Curr Biol. 2019 Dec 16;29(24):4260-4267.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.028. Curr Biol. 2019. PMID: 31846668 Free PMC article.
-
Chromatic clocks: Color opponency in non-image-forming visual function.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2017 Jul;78:24-33. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.04.016. Epub 2017 Apr 23. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2017. PMID: 28442402 Free PMC article. Review.
-
A colourful clock.PLoS Biol. 2015 May 21;13(5):e1002160. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002160. eCollection 2015 May. PLoS Biol. 2015. PMID: 25996907 Free PMC article.
-
Synchronization of the mammalian circadian timing system: Light can control peripheral clocks independently of the SCN clock: alternate routes of entrainment optimize the alignment of the body's circadian clock network with external time.Bioessays. 2015 Oct;37(10):1119-28. doi: 10.1002/bies.201500026. Epub 2015 Aug 7. Bioessays. 2015. PMID: 26252253 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Eye-specific visual processing in the mouse suprachiasmatic nuclei.J Physiol. 2015 Apr 1;593(7):1731-43. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2014.288225. Epub 2015 Feb 27. J Physiol. 2015. PMID: 25652666 Free PMC article.
Cited by
-
Cell-cell interaction in the pathogenesis of inherited retinal diseases.Front Cell Dev Biol. 2024 Mar 4;12:1332944. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1332944. eCollection 2024. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2024. PMID: 38500685 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Recommendations for measuring and standardizing light for laboratory mammals to improve welfare and reproducibility in animal research.PLoS Biol. 2024 Mar 12;22(3):e3002535. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002535. eCollection 2024 Mar. PLoS Biol. 2024. PMID: 38470868 Free PMC article.
-
Ontogeny and social context regulate the circadian activity patterns of Lake Malawi cichlids.J Comp Physiol B. 2024 Jun;194(3):299-313. doi: 10.1007/s00360-023-01523-3. Epub 2023 Nov 1. J Comp Physiol B. 2024. PMID: 37910192 Free PMC article.
-
Immediate responses to ambient light in vivo reveal distinct subpopulations of suprachiasmatic VIP neurons.iScience. 2023 Sep 9;26(10):107865. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107865. eCollection 2023 Oct 20. iScience. 2023. PMID: 37766975 Free PMC article.
-
Transcriptomic Analysis of Light-Induced Genes in Nasonia vitripennis: Possible Implications for Circadian Light Entrainment Pathways.Biology (Basel). 2023 Sep 6;12(9):1215. doi: 10.3390/biology12091215. Biology (Basel). 2023. PMID: 37759614 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Roenneberg T, Foster RG (1997) Twilight times: light and the circadian system. Photochem Photobiol 66: 549–561. - PubMed
-
- Freedman MS, Lucas RJ, Soni B, von Schantz M, Munoz M, et al. (1999) Regulation of mammalian circadian behavior by non-rod, non-cone, ocular photoreceptors. Science 284: 502–504. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources