Central Regulation Of Energy Metabolism With Special Reference To Circadian Rhythm

This excellent book describes the roles of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus as a regulatory center of homeostatic mechanism and a circadian oscillator in mammals, including humans. The authors emphasize two important points based on their findings: 1) SCN plays a critical role in central regulation of energy metabolism through which a constant supply of glucose to the central nervous system (CNS) is well maintained; and 2) neurons responsible for the regulation of energy metabolism are located in the ventrolateral part of the SCN and receive retinal neural inputs through both the retinohypothalamic tract and the geniculohypothalamic tract. The authors then discuss the evolutionary importance of these points to the survival of mammals on earth. Other topics examined include the involvement of light in the regulation of neural activity of the autonomic nervous system through the retina and SCN, in addition to the relation of the SCN with regulations of other autonomic nerve functions, such as blood pressure and body temperature. Central Regulation of Energy Metabolism with Special Reference to Circadian Rhythm is important reading for researchers and students in neuroendocrinologists, neurobiologists, biochemists, endocrinologists, physiologists, chronobiologists, psychologists, pharmacologists, and others interested in the topic.

The prevalence of obesity in developed countries is fast becoming a health issue on par with infectious diseases and malnutrition. Research in this area has grown substantially and includes the neurochemical pathways of the hypothalamus and its role in regulating energy expenditures in the body. This volume in the Progress in Brain Research series examines the emerging role of the hypothalamus as a crucial link between the sensing of nutrients and the control of insulin sensitivity, glucose uptake, and glucose production, the integrative role of the hypothalamus in thyroid and bone metabolism, the interaction between circadian information and energy metabolism, and the important interplay between the immune system and energy metabolism. · All contributors are recognized experts in their respective specialities · Provides expanded coverage of hypothalamic mechanisms involved in energy metabolism · Includes many outstanding full-colour illustrations · Contains special sections on circadian rhythms, immune system, thyroid and bone metabolism

This book systemically describes the mechanisms underlying the neural regulation of metabolism. Metabolic diseases, including obesity and its associated conditions, currently affect more than 500 million people worldwide. Recent research has shown that the neural regulation of metabolism is a central mechanism that controls metabolic status physiologically and pathophysiologically. The book first introduces the latest studies on the neural and cellular mechanisms of hypothalamic neurons, hypothalamic glial cells, neural circuitries, cellular signaling pathways, and synaptic plasticity in the control of appetite, body weight, feeding-related behaviors and metabolic disorders. It then summarizes the humoral mechanisms by which critical adipocyte-derived hormones and lipoprotein lipase regulate lipid and glucose metabolism, and examines the role of the hypothalamus-sympathetic nerve, a critical nerve pathway from CNS to peripheral nervous system (PNS), in the regulation of metabolism in multiple tissues/organs. Furthermore, the book discusses the functions of adipose tissue in energy metabolism. Lastly, it explores dietary interventions to treat neural diseases and some of the emerging technologies used to study the neural regulation of metabolism. Presenting cutting-edge developments in the neural regulation of metabolism, the book is a valuable reference resource for graduate students and researchers in the field of neuroscience and metabolism.

One of the major breakthroughs of the last decade in the understanding of energy homeostasis is the identification of a reciprocal control between circadian rhythmicity and cellular metabolism. Circadian rhythmicity is a fundamental endogenous process of almost every organism living on Earth. For instance, the alternation of hunger and satiety is not continuous over 24 h, but is instead structured in time along the light/dark cycle. In mammals, the temporal organization of metabolism, physiology and behavior around 24 h is controlled by a network of multiple cellular clocks, synchronized via neuronal and hormonal signals by a master clock located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus. This central circadian conductor in the brain is mainly reset by ambient light perceived by the retina, while secondary circadian clocks in other brain areas and peripheral organs can be reset by meal timing. Chronic disruption of circadian rhythms, as seen in human shift-workers (up to 20% of the active population), has been associated with the development of a number of adverse mental and metabolic conditions. Understanding of the functional links between circadian desynchronization and overall health in animal models and humans, however, is still scarce. Interactions between circadian clocks and metabolism can occur at different levels: the molecular clockwork, internal synchronization via neuro-hormonal signals, or external synchronization via photic or feeding cues. This Research Topic comprises a number of reviews as well as research and methods articles that feature recent advancements in the mechanisms linking circadian clocks with energy metabolism, and the pathophysiological implications of these interactions for metabolic health.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.Providing a nuanced study of the connections between sleep, circadian rhythms, and metabolis, this informative book examines how circadian actions affect the liver and adipose tissue, the brain, and metabolism. This important book introduces the reader to circadian rhythms in the body and the ext

While the first edition of the critically acclaimed and highly popular Circadian Physiologyoffered a concise but rigorous review of basic and applied research on circadian rhythms, this newest edition provides educators with the primary textbook they need to support a course on this cutting-edge topic. Maintaining the same accessible multidi

With the invitation to edit this volume, I wanted to take the opportunity to assemble reviews on different aspects of circadian clocks and rhythms. Although most c- tributions in this volume focus on mammalian circadian clocks, the historical int- duction and comparative clocks section illustrate the importance of various other organisms in deciphering the mechanisms and principles of circadian biology. Circadian rhythms have been studied for centuries, but only recently, a mole- lar understanding of this process has emerged. This has taken research on circadian clocks from mystic phenomenology to a mechanistic level; chains of molecular events can describe phenomena with remarkable accuracy. Nevertheless, current models of the functioning of circadian clocks are still rudimentary. This is not due to the faultiness of discovered mechanisms, but due to the lack of undiscovered processes involved in contributing to circadian rhythmicity. We know for example, that the general circadian mechanism is not regulated equally in all tissues of m- mals. Hence, a lot still needs to be discovered to get a full understanding of cir- dian rhythms at the systems level. In this respect, technology has advanced at high speed in the last years and provided us with data illustrating the sheer complexity of regulation of physiological processes in organisms. To handle this information, computer aided integration of the results is of utmost importance in order to d- cover novel concepts that ultimately need to be tested experimentally.