Altered Lighting Conditions Elicit Sex-Specific Circadian Behaviors in Diurnal Grass Rats

Circadian rhythms are crucial to biological functions, and cognitive functions such as attention, choice, and preference-related behaviors are modulated by circadian rhythms and disrupted in mood disorders such as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). These neuropsychiatric diseases can be induced or worsened by alterations to daily light patterns and can also be treated with circadian-timed bright-light therapy, suggesting modulatory effects of light brightness on mood and behavior. While most laboratory rodents are nocturnal, the Nile grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) is diurnal, offering a unique model to study light modulation effects relevant to humans. In this work, we track daily activity in male and female grass rats under varied lighting for several weeks, revealing sex-specific circadian patterns and responses. These findings establish a foundation for mechanistic studies of light effects on mood-related brain circuits in diurnal animals.