Gillette M U
Brain Res. 1986 Jul 30;379(1):176-81. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(86)90273-8.
Neurons of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus compose a primary oscillator which organizes circadian rhythms in mammals. In cultured hypothalamic slices from rat brain, the SCN diurnal oscillation in neuronal firing rate continued unperturbed when slices were prepared during the light phase of the donor's light/dark cycle. However, when slices were prepared during the donor's dark period, the rhythm was phase-shifted. The sign and shape of the phase-response relationship for resetting in the isolated oscillator is very similar to that for intact animals, except that in isolation the SCN oscillator undergoes large shifts during the first cycle. The finding that a phase-shifting stimulus at the time of brain slice preparation causes normal phase readjustment in vitro demonstrates that the underlying mechanism is endogenous to the SCN and can be probed in the brain slice.
下丘脑视交叉上核（SCN）的神经元构成了一个主要振荡器，它负责组织哺乳动物的昼夜节律。在从大鼠大脑分离培养的下丘脑切片中，当在供体明暗周期的光照阶段制备切片时，SCN神经元放电率的昼夜振荡不受干扰地持续。然而，当在供体的黑暗期制备切片时，节律会发生相移。在分离的振荡器中重置的相位响应关系的符号和形状与完整动物的非常相似，只是在分离状态下，SCN振荡器在第一个周期内会发生较大的相位变化。在脑切片制备时的相移刺激能在体外引起正常的相位重新调整，这一发现表明潜在机制是SCN内源性的，并且可以在脑切片中进行探究。
