Masking of a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish involves the thalamo-habenula pathway

Abstract Changes in illumination can rapidly influence behavior that is normally controlled by the circadian clock. This effect is termed masking. In mice, masking requires melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells that detect blue light and project to the thalamus. It is not known whether maskin...

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Main Authors: Qian Lin, Suresh Jesuthasan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2017-06-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04205-7
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spelling doaj-5213b7cb3e484115b2ce66593b8c4ac52020-12-08T02:40:37ZengNature Publishing GroupScientific Reports2045-23222017-06-017111110.1038/s41598-017-04205-7Masking of a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish involves the thalamo-habenula pathwayQian Lin0Suresh Jesuthasan1NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, 28 Medical Drive, National University of SingaporeLee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological UniversityAbstract Changes in illumination can rapidly influence behavior that is normally controlled by the circadian clock. This effect is termed masking. In mice, masking requires melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells that detect blue light and project to the thalamus. It is not known whether masking is wavelength-dependent in other vertebrates, nor is it known whether the thalamus is also involved or how it influences masking. Here, we address these questions in zebrafish. We find that diel vertical migration, a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish, is effectively triggered by blue, but not by red light. Two-photon calcium imaging reveals that a thalamic nucleus and a downstream structure, the habenula, have a sustained response to blue but not to red light. Lesioning the habenula reduces light-evoked climbing. These data suggest that the thalamo-habenula pathway is involved in the ability of blue light to influence a circadian behavior.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04205-7
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Qian Lin
Suresh Jesuthasan
spellingShingle Qian Lin
Suresh Jesuthasan
Masking of a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish involves the thalamo-habenula pathway
Scientific Reports
author_facet Qian Lin
Suresh Jesuthasan
author_sort Qian Lin
title Masking of a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish involves the thalamo-habenula pathway
title_short Masking of a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish involves the thalamo-habenula pathway
title_full Masking of a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish involves the thalamo-habenula pathway
title_fullStr Masking of a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish involves the thalamo-habenula pathway
title_full_unstemmed Masking of a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish involves the thalamo-habenula pathway
title_sort masking of a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish involves the thalamo-habenula pathway
publisher Nature Publishing Group
series Scientific Reports
issn 2045-2322
publishDate 2017-06-01
description Abstract Changes in illumination can rapidly influence behavior that is normally controlled by the circadian clock. This effect is termed masking. In mice, masking requires melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells that detect blue light and project to the thalamus. It is not known whether masking is wavelength-dependent in other vertebrates, nor is it known whether the thalamus is also involved or how it influences masking. Here, we address these questions in zebrafish. We find that diel vertical migration, a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish, is effectively triggered by blue, but not by red light. Two-photon calcium imaging reveals that a thalamic nucleus and a downstream structure, the habenula, have a sustained response to blue but not to red light. Lesioning the habenula reduces light-evoked climbing. These data suggest that the thalamo-habenula pathway is involved in the ability of blue light to influence a circadian behavior.
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04205-7
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AT sureshjesuthasan maskingofacircadianbehaviorinlarvalzebrafishinvolvesthethalamohabenulapathway
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