ADVERTISEMENT
A white brain with clock hands rests in the middle of two scenes of two different times of day, nighttime, indicated by stars on a blue background, is on the left and day, indicated by light blue clouds, on the right.
Sleep Rhythms Prompt Long-term Memories
A bridge between neurons triggers longer, deeper sleep and memory formation in fly larvae.
Sleep Rhythms Prompt Long-term Memories
Sleep Rhythms Prompt Long-term Memories

A bridge between neurons triggers longer, deeper sleep and memory formation in fly larvae.

A bridge between neurons triggers longer, deeper sleep and memory formation in fly larvae.

circadian clocks, neuroscience

Newborn baby rats lie in a basket
Mother’s Circadian Rhythms Mirrored in Fetal Rat Brains
Bianca Nogrady | Sep 12, 2022 | 2 min read
Before their own central clocks develop, the brains of fetal rats detect their mother’s metabolic cycle to help regulate the expression of certain genes.
illustration of multiple clocks arranged in the shape of a brain
How Early-Morning Light Exposure Makes Mice Less Depressed
Bianca Nogrady | Jul 22, 2021 | 4 min read
A light-sensitive gene involved in regulating the body clock may also influence mood, mediating the effect of light.
Malaria Parasites’ Biological Clocks Coordinate Cell Destruction
Abby Olena, PhD | May 14, 2020 | 3 min read
Two studies show that Plasmodium—the genus of protozoans that cause malaria—have an internal sense of time that synchronizes with their host’s circadian rhythms and allows the parasites to collectively attack blood cells.
Light Enables Long-Term Memory Maintenance in Fruit Flies
Diana Kwon | May 1, 2020 | 2 min read
Under constant darkness, Drosophila’s ability to form lasting memories is impaired.
Fly’s Blood-Brain Barrier Has Circadian Rhythms
Abby Olena, PhD | Mar 8, 2018 | 3 min read
In Drosophila, the tissue is more permeable to drugs at night, offering a possible explanation for why some medicines work better at certain times of day.
Circadian Gene Linked to Severe Epilepsy in Children
Diana Kwon | Oct 11, 2017 | 3 min read
Loss of the CLOCK protein, which researchers find is decreased in pediatric epilepsy patients, makes mice more prone to seizures during sleep.
Giants of Circadian Biology Win Nobel Prize
Catherine Offord | Oct 2, 2017 | 4 min read
The award in Physiology or Medicine goes to chronobiologists Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael Young.
Time, Flies
Anna Azvolinsky | Nov 1, 2016 | 9 min read
By studying the sleep-wake cycle of fruit flies, Amita Sehgal is revealing how the body’s circadian and sleep rhythms are regulated.
Circadian-Controlled Thirst
Ruth Williams | Sep 28, 2016 | 3 min read
Scientists determine how the brain’s central clock regulates drinking prior to sleep in rodents.
Christina Schmidt: Chronobiology Crusader
Karen Zusi | Mar 1, 2016 | 3 min read
Research Fellow, Cyclotron Research Center, University of Liège. Age: 35
Genes’ Cycles Change with Age
Kerry Grens | Dec 23, 2015 | 1 min read
As the rhythmic expression of many genes falls out of sync in older human brains, a subset of transcripts gain rhythmicity with age.
Speaking of Neuroscience
Bob Grant | Oct 22, 2015 | 1 min read
A selection of notable quotes from the Society for Neuroscience meeting
Rhythmic Rewiring
Jyoti Madhusoodanan | Nov 1, 2014 | 3 min read
Circadian neurons in fruit flies form synapses with different, noncircadian brain regions depending on the time of day.
Clock Genes Linked to Depression
Edyta Zielinska | May 15, 2013 | 1 min read
Patients with major depressive disorder appear to have malfunctioning circadian rhythms, which could lead researchers to new avenues for treatment.
Top 7 in Neuroscience
Edyta Zielinska | Nov 8, 2011 | 3 min read
A snapshot of the most highly ranked articles in neuroscience and related areas, from Faculty of 1000
Top 7 in Neuroscience
Tia Ghose | Aug 23, 2011 | 3 min read
A snapshot of the most highly ranked articles in neuroscience, from Faculty of 1000
Circadian Signs of Aging
Kerry Grens | Jul 13, 2011 | 2 min read
The neural nexus of the circadian clock shows signs of functional decline as mice age, providing clues as to why sleep patterns tend to change as people grow older.
ADVERTISEMENT