Photoperiod, food restriction and memory for objects and places in mice

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) contains a population of cell-autonomous circadian oscillators essential for entrainment to daily light-dark (LD) cycles. Synchrony among SCN oscillators is modified by photoperiod and determines functional properties of SCN clock cycling, including its amplitude, phase angle of entrainment, and free running periodicity (τ). For many species, encoding of daylength in SCN output is critical for seasonal regulation of metabolism and reproduction. C57BL/6 mice do not show seasonality in these functions, yet do show photoperiodic modulation of SCN clock output. The significance of this for brain systems and functions downstream from the SCN in these species is largely unexplored. C57BL/6 mice housed in a long-day photoperiod have been reported to perform better on tests of object, spatial and fear memory compared to mice in a standard 12 h photoperiod. We previously reported that encoding of photoperiod in SCN output, evident in τ in constant dark (DD), can be blocked by limiting food access to a 4 h mealtime in the light period. To determine whether this might also block the effect of long days on memory, mice entrained to 18 h:6 h (L18) or 6 h:18 h (L6) LD cycles were tested for 24 h object memory (novel object preference, NOP) and spatial working memory (Y-maze spontaneous alternation, SA), at 4 times of day, first with food available ad libitum and then during weeks 5-8 of daytime restricted feeding. Photoperiod modified τ as expected, but did not affect performance on the NOP and SA tests, either before or during restricted feeding. NOP performance did improve in the restricted feeding condition in both photoperiods, eliminating a weak time of day effect evident with food available ad-libitum. These results highlight benefits of restricted feeding on cognitive function, and suggest a dose-response relationship between photoperiod and memory, with no benefits at daylengths up to 18 h.