Circadian clocks, rhythmic synaptic plasticity and the sleep-wake cycle in zebrafish

Frontiers in Neural Circuits

Idan eElbaz¹  Lior eAppelbaum¹  Nicholas S. Foulkes²  Yoav eGothilf³ 

[1] Bar Ilan University;Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT);Tel Aviv University;

关键词: Circadian Rhythm;    Melatonin;    Sleep;    Zebrafish;    synaptic plasticity;    Circadian clock;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fncir.2013.00009

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The circadian clock and homeostatic processes are fundamental mechanisms that regulate sleep. Surprisingly, despite decades of research, we still do not know why we sleep. Intriguing hypotheses suggest that sleep regulates synaptic plasticity and consequently has a beneficial role in learning and memory. However, direct evidence is still limited and the molecular regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. The zebrafish provides a powerful vertebrate model system that enables simple genetic manipulation, imaging of neuronal circuits and synapses in living animals, and the monitoring of behavioral performance during day and night. Thus, the zebrafish has become an attractive model to study circadian and homeostatic processes that regulate sleep. Zebrafish clock- and sleep-related genes have been cloned, neuronal circuits that exhibit circadian rhythms of activity and synaptic plasticity have been studied, and rhythmic behavioral outputs have been characterized. Integration of this data could lead to a better understanding of sleep regulation. Here, we review the progress of circadian clock and sleep studies in zebrafish with special emphasis on the genetic and neuroendocrine mechanisms that regulate rhythms of melatonin secretion, structural synaptic plasticity, locomotor activity and sleep.

【 授权许可】

Unknown