Over the last 30 years, it has become clear that female reproductive cycles, including the timing of ovulation, depend on a both hormonal signals from the ovaries (e.g. estradiol, progesterone), and on precise timing signals from the brain's internal, daily clock - the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN); without an SCN, animals stop ovulating, and disturbances of the clock (e.g. shifting light schedules, such as in jetlag) cause reproductive disorders. The importance of the SCN in ovulation is clear, but how the SCN connects to and communicates with reproductive centers remains unknown. Using specific light schedules that challenge the clock of rats, researchers are now constructing the first map linking the SCN "clock" to the reproductive system. This brain map will include specific cells within the SCN responsible for the timing signals of ovulation, the reproductive brain centers they connect to, and the chemical signals used in these connections. If successful, this map will provide a more complete understanding of how ovulation is controlled by the brain, as well as how the SCN clock controls other timing events through the brain. The study will not only answer the question of how the clock controls ovulation, but it will also further our general knowledge of how the brain controls female reproduction, opening further questions for these fields.
The researchers involved have a history of scientific outreach activities. They help to organize and run three Brain Awareness Week annual festivals, each bringing 500+ local K-12 students to the University of Washington campus for a day of lectures and educational games and interactive exhibits. Over the past two years, the researchers have made twelve visits to local Seattle classrooms in public, private and special needs schools, where they exposed potential future scientists to behavioral neuroscience research. From these experiences they have developed free on-line lesson plans to help other scientists and educators, which to date have been downloaded by more than 3,000 visitors to the web site.
