Data Science Day @ Columbia University

Understanding the neural networks associated with specific brain functions is a challenge. The brain’s master clock, located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), and made up of ~20,000 “clock cells”, presents an ideal system for exploring the relationship of cellular/molecular events to inter-connections among cells, and how these networks sustain the body’s daily rhythms. At the intracellular level, rhythmicity is produced by feedback loops involving daily rhythms in expression of “clock” genes and associated proteins. To determine whether or not all SCN cells are identical in their intracellular/molecular clocks, we designed programs to assess protein expression levels over days, over time of day, and in location of individual cells within the nucleus, using Mathematica. Our novel approach to analyzing neural networks yields evidence of both regional and cellular specialization of clock protein expression. The findings point to a new mechanism for encoding information in SCN networks.