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Mapping the Gears That Control Circadian rhythms

What‌ makes someone a “morning lark” or a “night owl?”⁣ why​ does jet ⁣lag hit us‌ so‌ hard, and why do some people struggle each winter wiht seasonal affective disorder?

Clues to these puzzles may​ lie in a tiny brain region‍ called the suprachiasmatic nucleus ⁣(SCN),‍ the ‌body’s central circadian ⁢pacemaker.

The ‌SCN contains thousands of neurons that ​must check in with ​one another​ to coordinate their activity​ and keep ⁢the​ body aligned to local time, but the network wiring that brings them into sync has remained unclear.

Researchers at Washington University in St.⁣ louis developed a computational tool to reveal these connections in ⁣the mouse SCN. Their findings, published in ⁣the ⁤ Proceedings of the⁣ National ⁤Academy of Sciences show that⁤ not all SCN ​cells are created equal. Even ⁢though the mouse SCN⁢ has around 20,000 neurons, only a small subset of “hub” cells keep the body ​synchronized. The tool ⁣could help in advancement of ​treatments for ⁢shift workers or those impacted by seasonal affective disorder or any health problems that could be improved with some ⁤circadian tinkering.

The MITE ⁤Technique: Unveiling⁢ Functional Communication

Mapping these connections was a‍ massive interdisciplinary⁣ effort led by Professor ‌Erik Herzog and⁣ research scientist‌ KL Nikhil, both ⁣in biology. ‍Together with senior scientist Daniel Granados-Fuentes, electrical engineers Jr-Shin‌ Li and ⁢Bharat Singhal at the McKelvey School of Engineering, and chemist István Kiss of Saint Louis University, the team developed a technique called MITE (Mutual Data and Transfer Entropy, which they pronounce as ‌”mighty”).

“MITE captures cellular​ connections by studying how signals flow between cells, moving us beyond static anatomical maps to ‌study​ functional communication in