Being circadian or not: vasopressin release in cultured SCN mirrors behavior in adult voles.

We studied vasopressin (AVP) release patterns from organotypic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) cultures obtained from circadian rhythmic and non-rhythmic voles. All eight SCN cultures made from non-rhythmic voles did not produce any circadian pattern in AVP release, while five out of six SCN cultures of rhythmic voles produced significant (circadian) peak values. The total amount of AVP released was 2-fold higher in SCN cultures from rhythmic vole. These data confirm our previously formulated AVP release deficit hypothesis for nonrhythmic voles, and suggest that AVP in the vole SCN plays an important role in mediating output of its circadian clock, regulating circadian organization of locomotor behavior.