Nirva Institute · Astrocytes · Mental Health & Experience

Astrocytes and Circadian Rhythms

Not just neurons keep time.

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The Nirva InstitutePublished 2026≈ 5 min read
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The suprachiasmatic nucleus has long been described as the master neuronal clock. Recent work has shown that astrocytes within the SCN have their own molecular clock — and can drive circadian rhythms.

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Astrocyte clocks

Cell-autonomous astrocytic clocks in the SCN can drive circadian behavior independently of neurons.211



Scientific References

Primary literature

AMA numeric style. Citation numbers are unified across the Nirva Life ecosystem — the same number refers to the same reference across every library article. Full registry is anchored in the Cornerstone Paper.

  1. 211.Brancaccio M, Edwards MD, Patton AP, et al. Cell-autonomous clock of astrocytes drives circadian behavior in mammals. Science. 2019;363(6423):187-192. PubMed ↗

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