The circadian system coordinates physiological and behavioral processes with the 24-hour environmental cycle. In mammals, the central pacemaker is located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus, synchronizing subsidiary oscillators throughout the brain and periphery via neural, hormonal, and metabolic cues. While light is the dominant signal for the SCN, accumulating evidence shows that food intake is a potent timing cue for other brain regions involved in energy balance, cognition, and reward processing, often independently of the SCN. These feeding-induced oscillations depend on rhythmic nutrient sensing, hormonal signals, and metabolic pathways that feed back to the molecular clock machinery. We recently identified metabolites derived from maternal food and important for cellular processes that exhibit rhythmic changes in the fetal SCN. The results suggest that a daily food intake regimen during pregnancy is essential for neurodevelopment of the fetal SCN. In adult animals, we identified food-related metabolic signals that affect the circadian clock in the choroid plexus and showed that the clock rhythmically drives most processes related to the physiological function of this brain structure. Because this function is important for maintaining brain homeostasis, our findings provide a novel concept of how changes in metabolic state can affect the brain. Understanding how meal timing interacts with the brain’s circadian hierarchy offers mechanistic insight into the health consequences of shift work, irregular eating patterns, and modern lifestyles. Targeting the temporal aspects of food intake represents a promising strategy to reinforce circadian coherence and promote brain and systemic homeostasis.

IPHYS contact person: Prof. PharmDr. Alena Sumová, DSc., Laboratory of Biological Rhythms, alena.sumova@fgu.cas.cz

Funding: Output of project no. LX22NPO5104 „Funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU“