circadian circuits lab at Texas A&M University

Highlights

Circadian neurons in the paraventricular nucleus entrain and sustain daily rhythms in glucocorticoids

Figure from Jones et al. 2021

Jeff R Jones, Sneha Chaturvedi, Daniel Granados-Fuentes, and Erik D Herzog

Nature Communications 12 (5763), 2021

Signals from the SCN must be decoded to generate daily rhythms in hormone release. We found that daily corticosterone release depends on coordinated clock gene and neuronal activity rhythms in both SCN and paraventricular nucleus neurons.

SCN VIP neurons are essential for normal light-mediated resetting of the circadian system

Jeff R Jones, Tatiana Simon, Lorenzo Lones, and Erik D Herzog

Journal of Neuroscience 38 (37), 2018

Figure from Jones et al. 2018

The SCN synchronizes circadian rhythms to the external light cycle, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are unclear. We found that rhythmic VIP-producing SCN neurons are an essential component of the circadian light transduction pathway.

The core clock gene Per1 synchronizes molecular and electrical circadian rhythms

Jeff R Jones and Douglas G McMahon

PeerJ 4:e2297, 2016

Figure from Jones and McMahon 2016

The relationship between rhythms in gene expression and firing is not fully understood. We found that a core clock gene plays a unique role in phasing gene expression and firing rate rhythms in SCN neurons to increase the robustness of cellular timekeeping.

Manipulating circadian clock neuron firing rate resets molecular circadian rhythms and behavior

Jeff R Jones, Michael C Tackenberg, and Douglas G McMahon

Nature Neuroscience 18, 2015

Figure from Jones et al. 2015

Interlocking molecular and electrical loops in the SCN interact to drive behavior, but how they interact with each other remains unknown. We found that SCN firing rate is fundamental to circadian pacemaking as both an input to and output of the molecular clock.

Full list of publications

2021

Jones JR, Chaturvedi S, Granados-Fuentes D, and Herzog ED. "Circadian neurons in the paraventricular nucleus entrain and sustain daily rhythms in glucocorticoids. Nat Commun 12:5763.

Myung J, Nakamura TJ, Jones JR, Silver R, and Ono D. "Development of circadian clock functions." Front Neurosci 15:957.

2020

Jones JR and Herzog ED. "Elucidating wiring diagrams for circadian regulation of hormonal rhythms." In: Biological Rhythms. (Honma K, Honma S, ed.). Sapporo, Japan: Hokkaido University Press.

Jones JR, Tackenberg MC, and McMahon DG. "Optogenetic methods for the study of circadian rhythms." Methods Mol Biol. 2130:325-336.

2018

Jones JR, Simon T, Lones L, and Herzog ED. "SCN VIP neurons are essential for normal light-mediated resetting of the circadian system." J Neurosci 38(37):7986-7995.

Mazuski C, Abel JH, Chen SP, Hermanstyne TO, Jones JR, Simon T, Doyle FJ, and Herzog ED. "Entrainment of circadian rhythms depends on firing rates and neuropeptide release of VIP SCN neurons." Neuron 99(3):555-563.

Tackenberg MC, Jones JR, Page TL, and Hughey JJ. "Tau-independent phase analysis: a novel method for accurately determining phase shifts." J Biol Rhythm 33(3):223-232.

2016

Eban-Rothschild A, Rothschild G, Giardino WJ, Jones JR, and de Lecea L. "VTA dopaminergic neurons regulate ethologically relevant sleep-wake behaviors." Nat Neurosci 19(10):1356-1366.

Jones JR and McMahon DG. "The core clock gene Per1 synchronizes molecular and electrical circadian rhythms." PeerJ 4:e2297.

Li SB, Jones JR, and de Lecea L. "Hypocretins, neural systems, physiology, and psychiatric disorders." Curr Psychiatry Rep 18:7.

2015

Jones JR, Tackenberg MC, and McMahon DG. "Manipulating circadian clock neuron firing rate resets molecular circadian rhythms and behavior." Nat Neurosci 18:373-375.

2014

Brancaccio M, Enoki R, Mazuski C, Jones J, Evans JA, and Azzi A. "Network-mediated encoding of circadian time: the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) from genes to neurons to circuits, and back." J Neurosci 34:15192-15199.