How internal circadian clocks in neurons encode external daily rhythms of excitability

(University of Alabama at Birmingham) Researchers have identified a key mechanism linking the master molecular clock in the brain to changes in the external electrical firing activity of those circadian clock neurons. It involves the GSK3 kinase enzyme, which is also the target of lithium and other mood-stabilizing drugs used to treat bipolar disorder. Sodium channels found to be regulated by GSK3 are the target of a drug used to treat ALS, as well as anxiety disorders and depression.