Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38896499›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of comparative neurology2024

Extensive soma-soma plate-like contact sites (ephapses) connect suprachiasmatic nucleus neurons.

Mark É Czeisler, Yongli Shan, Richard Schalek, Daniel R Berger, Adi Suissa-Peleg, Joseph S Takahashi, Jeff W Lichtman

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of comparative neurology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Morphological specializations of mosquito COProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Mark É CzeislerDepartment of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3100-7347
Yongli ShanDepartment of Neuroscience, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Richard SchalekDepartment of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Daniel R BergerDepartment of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Adi Suissa-PelegDepartment of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Joseph S TakahashiDepartment of Neuroscience, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Jeff W LichtmanDepartment of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Funding

Res Support CoreP50MH094271 · NIMH · HARVARD UNIVERSITY · PI HENSCH, TAKAO K · 2011 to 2022
$18.6M
A Facility to Generate Connectomics InformationU24NS109102 · NINDS · HARVARD UNIVERSITY · PI LICHTMAN, JEFF W · 2018 to 2023
$6.5M
NIMH NIH HHS P50 MH094271NINDS NIH HHS U24 NS109102
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is the central pacemaker for mammalian circadian rhythms. As such, this ensemble of cell-autonomous neuronal oscillators with divergent periods must maintain coordinated oscillations. To investigate ultrastructural features enabling such synchronization, 805 coronal ultrathin sections of mouse SCN tissue were imaged with electron microscopy and aligned into a volumetric stack, from which selected neurons within the SCN core were reconstructed in silico. We found that clustered SCN core neurons were physically connected to each other via multiple large soma-to-soma plate-like contacts. In some cases, a sliver of a glial process was interleaved. These contacts were large, covering on average ∼21% of apposing neuronal somata. It is possible that contacts may be the electrophysiological substrate for synchronization between SCN neurons. Such plate-like contacts may explain why the synchronization of SCN neurons is maintained even when chemical synaptic transmission or electrical synaptic transmission via gap junctions is blocked. Such ephaptic contact-mediated synchronization among nearby neurons may therefore contribute to the wave-like oscillations of circadian core clock genes and calcium signals observed in the SCN.

Indexed as

Mice, Inbred C57BLAnimalsMaleMiceNeuronsSuprachiasmatic NucleusSuprachiasmatic Nucleus Neuronscircadian rhythmsephaptic couplingmouseRRID:MGI:2159965serial electron microscopysuprachiasmatic nucleusultrastructure

Identifiers

PMID38896499
PMCPMC11419332

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.