Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Apr 16.
Published in final edited form as: Obes Rev. 2009 Nov;10(Suppl 2):14–24. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2009.00662.x

Figure 3. Entrainment of peripheral clocks by SCN.

Figure 3

The master pacemaker encoding the mammalian clocks is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus (SCN). Clocks residing in the SCN are entrained by light signals transmitted through the retinohypothalamic tract. The synchronization of other oscillators throughout the body by the SCN is presumably indirect via behavioral rhythms (e.g., feeding, physical activity) or rhythmically secreted hormones.