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- Title
Role of melanopsin in circadian responses to light.
- Authors
Ruby, Norman F; Brennan, Thomas J; Xie, Xinmin; Cao, Vinh; Franken, Paul; Heller, H Craig; O'Hara, Bruce F
- Abstract
Melanopsin has been proposed as an important photoreceptive molecule for the mammalian circadian system. Its importance in this role was tested in melanopsin knockout mice. These mice entrained to a light/dark cycle, phase-shifted after a light pulse, and increased circadian period when light intensity increased. Induction of the immediate-early gene c-fos was observed after a nighttime light pulse in both wild-type and knockout mice. However, the magnitude of these behavioral responses in knockout mice was 40% lower than in wild-type mice. Although melanopsin is not essential for the circadian clock to receive photic input, it contributes significantly to the magnitude of photic responses.
- Publication
Science (New York, N.Y.), 2002, Vol 298, Issue 5601, p2211
- ISSN
1095-9203
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1126/science.1076701