Circadian oscillators in the brain other than the SCN

The existence of a mammalian circadian clock has been identified by ablating the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) in the brain of hamsters, rats and mice. Later, investigations could pinpoint a set of clock genes to be the essence of a circadian timer present in all cells of the body, establishing a circadian system made up of multiple clocks in various organs that are synchronized to each other. The SCN is the main synchronizer in the system due to its direct connection to the eye, receiving light input signals. However, the brain has other integratory functions, such as in feeding behavior, reward, smell perception, stress coping, memory formation and many more. Therefore, it is likely that other brain nuclei which modulate these types of behaviors and contain their own clocks will do this in a time dependent fashion. These brain nuclei may also be responsive to external signals such as light, metabolic signals and other signals from the environment.

In this topic we aim to focus on non-SCN circadian oscillators of the brain, their sensitivity to environmental signals and their function to coordinate various types of behaviors.

We aim to publish review and original research articles on non-SCN circadian oscillators in the brain, such as the olfactory bulb, ventral tegmental area, amygdala, hippocampus, arcuate nucleus, retina, cerebellum, striatum, choroid plexus, and cerebral cortex. 

The Guest Editors of this Research Topic encourage all interested researchers to submit an abstract before submitting their manuscript. Abstracts do not have to coincide with the final abstract of the manuscripts. However, abstract submission is not mandatory.