Differences in the suprachiasmatic nucleus and lower subparaventricular zone of diurnal and nocturnal rodents

Abstract

Diurnal and nocturnal species are profoundly different in terms of the temporal organization of daily rhythms in physiology and behavior. The neural bases for these divergent patterns are at present unknown. Here we examine functional differences in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and one of its primary targets in a diurnal rodent, the unstriped Nile grass rat ( Arvicanthis niloticus) and in a nocturnal one, the laboratory rat ( Rattus norvegicus). Grass rats and laboratory rats were housed in a 12:12 light:dark cycle, and killed at six time points. cFos-immunoreactive rhythms in the SCN of grass rats and laboratory rats were similar to those reported previously, with peaks early in the light phase and troughs in the dark phase. However, cFos-immunoreactivity in the lower subparaventricular zone (LSPV) of grass rats rose sharply 5 h into the dark phase, and remained high through the first hour after light onset, whereas in laboratory rats it peaked 1 h after light onset and was low at all other sampling times. Daily cFos rhythms in both the SCN and the LSPV persisted in grass rats, but not in laboratory rats, after extended periods in constant darkness. In grass rats, the endogenous cFos rhythm in the LSPV, but not the SCN, was present both in calbindin-positive and in calbindin-negative cells. Cells that expressed cFos at night in the region of the LSPV in grass rats were clearly outside of the boundaries of the SCN as delineated by Nissl stain and immunoreactivity for vasopressin and vasoactive intestinal peptide. The LSPV of the grass rat, a region that receives substantial input from the SCN, displays a daily rhythm in cFos expression that differs from that of laboratory rats with respect to its rising phase, the duration of the peak and its dependence on a light/dark cycle. These characteristics may reflect the existence of mechanisms in the LSPV that enable it to modulate efferent SCN signals differently in diurnal and nocturnal species.