Non-photic phase resetting of Dexras1 deficient mice: A more complicated story

Recently, it has been reported that mice deficient for Dexras1 have a diminished phase-shifting response to photic stimuli but an enhanced response to non-photic stimuli; the latter is of additional interest in that mice generally show relatively weak and unreliable responses to non-photic events. Therefore, in situations in which both photic and non-photic stimuli are present, control of circadian rhythms, relative to wild-types, should tip toward non-photic stimuli in Dexras1−/− mice. However, we detected no differences in an experiment in which photic and non-photic entraining agents were presented 180° out of phase, i.e. were in conflict with each other. Furthermore, Dexras1−/− and wild-type mice did not differ in non-photic phase shifting to a pulse of confinement in a novel running wheel. Suppression of locomotion by light (masking effect) did not differ between the genotypes, indicating that the photoreceptor input to the non-image forming system is intact. The circadian phenotype of Dexras1−/− mice appears to be more complicated than previously thought.