Entrainment of the suprachiasmatic nucleus network by a light-dark cycle

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Xu, Jinshan, Gu, Changgui, Pumir, Alain, Garnier, Nicolas, Liu, Zonghua
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Xu, Jinshan
Gu, Changgui
Pumir, Alain
Garnier, Nicolas
Liu, Zonghua
author_facet Xu, Jinshan
Gu, Changgui
Pumir, Alain
Garnier, Nicolas
Liu, Zonghua
contents The synchronization of biological activity with the alternation of day and night (circadian rhythm) is performed in the brain by a group of neurons, constituting the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN is divided into two subgroups of oscillating cells: the ventro-lateral (VL) neurons, which are exposed to light (photic signal) and the dorso-medial (DM) neurons which are coupled to the VL cells. When the coupling between these neurons is strong enough, the system synchronizes with the photic period. Upon increasing the cell coupling, the entrainment of the DM cells has been recently shown to occur via a very sharp (jumping) transition when the period of the photic input is larger than the intrinsic period of the cells. Here, we characterize this transition with a simple realistic model. We show that two bifurcations possibly lead to the disappearance of the endogenous mode. Using a mean field model, we show that the jumping transition results from a supercritical Hopf-like bifurcation. This finding implies that both the period and strength of the stimulating photic signal, and the relative fraction of cells in the VL and DM compartments are crucial in determining the synchronization of the system.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_04926
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Entrainment of the suprachiasmatic nucleus network by a light-dark cycle
Xu, Jinshan
Gu, Changgui
Pumir, Alain
Garnier, Nicolas
Liu, Zonghua
Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems
Quantitative Methods
The synchronization of biological activity with the alternation of day and night (circadian rhythm) is performed in the brain by a group of neurons, constituting the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN is divided into two subgroups of oscillating cells: the ventro-lateral (VL) neurons, which are exposed to light (photic signal) and the dorso-medial (DM) neurons which are coupled to the VL cells. When the coupling between these neurons is strong enough, the system synchronizes with the photic period. Upon increasing the cell coupling, the entrainment of the DM cells has been recently shown to occur via a very sharp (jumping) transition when the period of the photic input is larger than the intrinsic period of the cells. Here, we characterize this transition with a simple realistic model. We show that two bifurcations possibly lead to the disappearance of the endogenous mode. Using a mean field model, we show that the jumping transition results from a supercritical Hopf-like bifurcation. This finding implies that both the period and strength of the stimulating photic signal, and the relative fraction of cells in the VL and DM compartments are crucial in determining the synchronization of the system.
title Entrainment of the suprachiasmatic nucleus network by a light-dark cycle
topic Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems
Quantitative Methods
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.04926