引用

在哺乳动物中，视交叉上核(SCN)和膝间叶(IGL)是昼夜节律系统的主要组成部分。SCN通常被称为主生物钟，它产生节奏并将其与环境线索同步。IGL是调节SCN活性的关键结构。动物利用时间的策略可以为了解某些物种如何适应自然界的竞争过程提供重要线索。很少有研究提供蝙蝠的时间生态位的信息，特别关注昼夜节律的神经基质。这项研究的目的是调查这些昼夜节律中心的细胞结构、化学成分和视网膜投影，这是一种南美特有的扁面食果蝠(artibeus planirostris_)。与其他种类的叶口类蝙蝠不同，扁面果食蝙蝠的活动高峰出现在日落后5小时。这就提出了关于该物种中SCN和IGL的结构和功能的几个问题。我们使用定性和定量方法对视网膜投影和细胞核的细胞结构进行了研究。基于相对光密度的发现，平面食果蝙蝠的SCN和IGL接受了双侧对称的视网膜神经支配。 The SCN contains vasopressin (VP) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) neurons with neuropeptide Y (NPY), serotonin (5-HT) and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) immunopositive fibers/terminals and is marked by intense glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunoreactivity. The IGL contains NPY perikarya as well as GAD and 5-HT immunopositive terminals and is characterized by dense GFAP immunostaining. In addition, stereological tools were combined with Nissl stained sections to estimate the volumes of the circadian centers. Taken together, the present results in the flat-faced fruit-eating bat reveal some differences compared to other bat species which might explain the divergence in the hourly activity among bats in order to reduce the competitive potential and resource partitioning in nature.