Scientists find first evidence of local clock in the brain

Research by groups at Imperial College London and Michael Hastings’ group at LMB have revealed how local body clocks control waking and sleeping. A master clock found in part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is thought to synchronise lots of ‘local’ clocks that regulate many aspects of our metabolism, for example in the liver. But until now scientists have not had sufficient evidence to demonstrate the existence of these local clocks in the brain or how they operate. More…