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. 2021 Mar 12;15:642745. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2021.642745

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Copyright © 2021 Lorsung, Karthikeyan and Cao.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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SCN regulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Cortisol production is regulated by three steps: (1) Release of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) by the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN); (2) the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is released from the anterior pituitary; and (3) Cortisol is synthesized and released from the adrenal cortex. Cortisol inhibits CRH and ACTH release at a feedback mechanism. The SCN has direct neural inputs into PVN and controls the daily rhythms of cortisol levels.