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The mammalian suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) controls the circadian rhythm of many physiological and behavioral events by an orchestrated output of the electrical activity of SCN neurons. We examined the propagation of output signals from the SCN into the hypothalamus, especially into the region of the paraventricular nucleus, through multimicroelectrode recordings using acute and organotypic brain slices. Circadian rhythms in spontaneous firing rate with a period close to 24 hr were demonstrated in the SCN, in directly adjacent hypothalamic regions, and in the region of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, an important center for the integration of neuroendocrine, homeostatic, and autonomic functions. The activity rhythms recorded from structures outside of the SCN were in phase with the rhythms in the SCN. Cyclic information in the hypothalamus was lost after ablation of the SCN but could be restored by SCN grafts, indicating that a humoral factor is responsible for the restoration of circadian rhythmicity in the absence of neural connections. Periodic application of arginine-vasopressin (AVP) provided evidence that AVP can induce rhythmicity in the hypothalamus. These data indicate that the SCN uses a dual (neuronal and humoral) mechanism for communication with its targets in the brain.
Tousson et al. (Wed,) studied this question.