Both dopamine and melatonin are important for the regulation of retinal rhythmicity, and substantial evidence suggests that these two substances are mutually inhibitory factors that act as chemical analogs of day and night. A circadian oscillator in the mammalian retina regulates melatonin synthesis. Here we show a circadian rhythm of retinal dopamine content in the mouse retina, and examine the role of melatonin in its control. Using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), we measured levels of dopamine and its two major metabolites, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA), in retinas of C3H+/+ mice (which make melatonin) and C57BL/6J mice that are genetically incapable of melatonin synthesis. In a light/dark cycle both strains of mice exhibited daily rhythms of retinal dopamine, DOPAC, and HVA content. However, after 10 days in constant darkness (DD), a circadian rhythm in dopamine levels was present in C3H, but not in C57 mice. C57 mice given ten daily injections of melatonin in DD exhibited a robust circadian rhythm of retinal dopamine content whereas no such rhythm was present in saline-injected controls. Our results demonstrate that (1) a circadian clock generates rhythms of dopamine content in the C3H mouse retina, (2) mice lacking melatonin also lack circadian rhythms of dopamine content, and (3) dopamine rhythms can be generated in these mice by cyclic administration of exogenous melatonin. Our results also indicate that circadian rhythms of retinal dopamine depend upon the rhythmic presence of melatonin, but that cyclic light can drive dopamine rhythms in the absence of melatonin.

Women progress more rapidly after initial cocaine use to addiction as compared with men. Similarly, female rats appear to require less cocaine exposure before developing an addicted phenotype with evidence implicating estradiol as a potential mechanism. The goals of this study were to determine whether there are sex differences in the magnitude of the addicted phenotype under optimized conditions that induce its development in both males and females and to determine the role of estradiol in this effect. Following acquisition, intact male and intact and ovariectomized (OVX) female rats with and without estradiol replacement were given access to cocaine (1.5 mg/kg per infusion) under either extended access (ExA; discrete trial procedure, 4 trials/h, 24 h/day, 10 days) or short access (ShA) conditions (20 infusions maximum/day, 3 days). Motivation to obtain cocaine (0.5 mg/kg/infusion), as assessed under a progressive-ratio schedule, was then examined following a 2-week abstinence period. Results showed that following ExA self-administration, both males and females developed an addicted phenotype, with 9 of 11 males and 8 of 10 females showing a greater than 15% increase in levels of motivation to obtain cocaine as compared with ShA controls. In contrast, within the OVX groups, responding was enhanced from control levels after ExA self-administration in estradiol-replaced rats only. These results suggest that while females may have an enhanced vulnerability to developing an addicted phenotype, they may be similar to males once addiction has developed. These results also suggest that estradiol is critically involved in the development of an addicted phenotype in females.

Dopamine, the predominant retinal catecholamine, is a neurotransmitter and neuromodulator known to regulate lightadaptive retinal processes. Because dopamine influences several rhythmic events in the retina it is also a candidate for a retinal circadian signal. Using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), we have tested whether dopamine and its breakdown products are rhythmic in Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats with normal and dystrophic retinas. In both normal and mutant animals entrained to a 12-h light/12-h dark cycle, we found robust daily rhythms of dopamine and its two major metabolites. To address circadian rhythmicity of dopamine content, rats were entrained to light/dark cycles and released into constant darkness, using the circadian rhythm of wheel-running activity as a marker of each individual's circadian phase. Circadian rhythms of dopamine and metabolite content persisted in both wild type and retinally degenerate animals held for two weeks in constant darkness. Our results demonstrate for the first time clear circadian rhythms of dopamine content and turnover in a free-running mammal, and suggest that rods and cones are not required for dopamine rhythmicity .

Background While considerable evidence implicates DA D1-receptor signaling in the nucleus accumbens in motivation for cocaine during early stages of addiction, less is known regarding its role following the development of addiction. Here, we examined its role in the development of an addicted phenotype in intact male and female rats, and in female rats that were either resistant or vulnerable to developing this phenotype. Methods Intact males, females, and ovariectomized (OVX) females with and without estradiol (vulnerable, OVX+E; resistant, OVX+Veh) were given either short access (ShA; 3 fixed-ratio 1 sessions, maximum of 20 infusions) or 24-hr extended access (ExA) to cocaine for 10 days (4 trials/hr). Motivation for cocaine was assessed following a 14-day abstinence period using a progressive-ratio schedule. Once responding stabilized, the effects of intra-accumbens infusion of the D1-receptor antagonist, SCH-23390 (0, 0.3, 1.0, 3.0 μg), were examined. Results Motivation for cocaine was markedly higher following abstinence from ExA versus ShA self-administration in intact males and females, indicating the development of an addicted phenotype in these groups. Motivation for cocaine was also higher than ShA controls in OVX+E, but not OVX+Veh females following ExA self-administration, confirming the categorization of these groups as vulnerable versus resistant. Following ExA self-administration, intact males and females and OVX+E, but not OVX+Veh females, were less sensitive to the effects of D1-receptor antagonism as compared to their ShA counterparts. Conclusions These results suggest that the role of D1-receptor signaling, though critical in “non-addicted” stages, becomes diminished once addiction has developed.

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Highlights d E93 is required to terminate MB neurogenesis in Drosophila d E93 downregulates PI3K levels to activate MB neuroblast autophagy d E93 is a late-acting temporal factor, regulated by intrinsic Imp and Syp d Extrinsic steroid hormone signaling boosts E93 levels for neurogenesis termination

The firing of hypothalamic hypocretin/orexin neurons is vital for normal sleep-wake transitions, but its molecular determinants are not well understood. It was recently proposed that TASK (TWIK-related acid-sensitive potassium) channels [TASK1 (K 2P 3.1) and/or TASK3 (K 2P 9.1)] regulate neuronal firing and may contribute to the specialized responses of orexin neurons to glucose and pH. Here we tested these theories by performing patch-clamp recordings from orexin neurons directly identified by targeted green fluorescent protein labelling in brain slices from TASK1/3 double-knockout mice. The deletion of TASK1/3 channels significantly reduced the ability of orexin cells to generate high-frequency firing. Consistent with reduced excitability, individual action potentials from knockout cells had lower rates of rise, higher thresholds and more depolarized after-hyperpolarizations. However, orexin neurons from TASK1/3 knockout mice retained typical responses to glucose and pH, and the knockout animals showed normal foodanticipatory locomotor activity. Our results support a novel role for TASK genes in enhancing neuronal excitability and promoting high-frequency firing, but suggest that TASK1/3 subunits are not essential for orexin cell responses to glucose and pH.

The mammalian circadian system is orchestrated by a master pacemaker in the brain but many peripheral tissues also contain independent or quasi-independent circadian oscillators. The adaptive significance of clocks in these structures must lie, in large part, in the phase relationships between the constituent oscillators and their micro-and macro-environments. To examine the relationship between postnatal development, which is dependent on endogenous programs and maternal/ environmental influences, and the phase of circadian oscillators, we assessed the circadian phase of pineal, liver, lung, adrenal, and thyroid tissues cultured from Period 1-luciferase (Per1-luc) rat pups of various postnatal ages. The liver, thyroid, and pineal were rhythmic at birth, but the phases of their Per1-luc expression rhythms shifted remarkably during development. To determine if the timing of the phase shift in each tissue could be the result of changing environmental conditions, we monitored the behavior of pups and their mothers. We found that the circadian phase of the liver shifted from the day to night around postnatal day (P) 22 as the pups nursed less during the light and instead ate solid food during the dark. Furthermore, the phase of Per1-luc expression in liver cultures from nursing neonates could be shifted experimentally from the day to the night by allowing pups access to the dam only during the dark. Peak Per1-luc expression also shifted from mid-day to early night in thyroid cultures at about P20, concurrent with the shift in eating times. The phase of Per1-luc expression in the pineal gland shifted from day to night coincident with its sympathetic innervation at around P5. Per1-luc expression was rhythmic in adrenal cultures and peaked around the time of lights-off throughout development, however, the amplitude of the rhythm increased at P25. Lung cultures were completely arrhythmic until P12 when the pups began to leave the nest. Taken together,