In vivo metabolic activity of hamster suprachiasmatic nuclei: use of anesthesia.

In vivo glucose utilization was measured in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of Golden hamsters using the 14C-labeled deoxyglucose technique. A circadian rhythm of SCN metabolic activity could be measured in this species, but only during pentobarbital sodium anesthesia when the surrounding background activity of adjacent hypothalamus was suppressed. Both the SCN's metabolic oscillation and its time-keeping ability are resistant to general anesthesia.