A colourful clock

Abstract

Circadian rhythms are an essential property of life on Earth. In mammals, these rhythms are coordinated by a small set of neurons, located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). The environmental light/dark cycle synchronizes (entrains) the SCN via a distinct pathway, originating in a subset of photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (pRGCs) that utilize the photopigment melanopsin (OPN4). The pRGCs are also innervated by rods and cones and, so, are both endogenously and exogenously light sensitive. Accumulating evidence has shown that the circadian system is sensitive to ultraviolet (UV), blue, and green wavelengths of light. However, it was unclear whether colour perception itself can help entrain the SCN. By utilizing both behavioural and electrophysiological recording techniques, Walmsley and colleagues show that multiple photic channels interact and enhance the capacity of the SCN to synchronize to the environmental cycle. Thus, entrainment of the circadian system combines both environmental irradiance and colour information to ensure that internal and external time are appropriately aligned.

Fig 1. Colour detection by the circadian system.

Colour detection by the circadian system. (A) Spectral changes in light reaching the earth during twilight. At negative solar angles, short wavelength light is dominant, while at positive solar angles, long wavelength light is dominant. (B) Schematic overview of light signalling to the SCN resulting in entrainment to a light-dark cycle. Light is the main entraining signal that adjusts the endogenous period length to the day-night cycle. Electrical activity of SCN neurons is the main output signal of the SCN, which leads to temporal regulation of behavioural activity. (C) Schematic depiction of two types of light-responsive neurons observed in the SCN as shown by Walmsley and colleagues: the colour-sensitive neuron (upper traces) and the brightness-sensitive neurons (lower traces). Image credit: Hester van Diepen.