Chapter 4 Excitatory and inhibitory amino acids and synaptic transmission in the suprachiasmatic nucleus

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This chapter focuses on glutamate and γ-aminobutyrate (GABA) and glutamate-mediated neurotransmission in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which has involved immunocytochemistry, electron microscopy, molecular biology, calcium imaging, and electrophysiology. The studies of the neuroanatomical organization of GABA and glutamate systems in the SCN, plus their pharmacology and physiology, are fundamental in understanding the cellular substrates of SCN function as a circadian clock that can entrain to environmental light cycles. The fundamental theme in the chapter is that GABA plays crucial roles in neurotransmission to the SCN. As in other regions of the medial hypothalamus, many other neurotransmitters are found in the SCN, but it appears that the primary role of these other neuroactive agents may be to modulate GABA- and glutamate-mediated neurotransmission and/or membrane excitability. Multiple lines of experimental evidence suggest that GABAergic neurons are involved in local circuit interactions within the SCN. Future research would profit from evaluating how fundamental mechanisms of neural interaction play a role in the hypothalamic integration of circadian rhythms.

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