A number of recent in vivo studies have reported rhythmic expression of the core circadian clock gene protein, PER2, in nuclei of the extended amygdala complex1,2, raising the intriguing possibility that these areas contain circadian oscillators. In order to determine the presence and properties of potential autonomous circadian oscillators in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) and oval nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (ov-BNST), we cultured isolated samples of these amygdala nuclei. Coronal brain slice cultures were made from each of these areas from adult male mice expressing a PER2::luciferase fusion protein reporter. PER2-driven luminescence expression was either tracked using photomultiplier tube assemblies (PMTs) or visualised on a highly sensitive Olympus LV200 luminescence microscope using photovideomicroscopy. Brain slice cultures from the CeA and ov-BNST expressed a single peak in PER2 expression which diminished to background levels after approximately 24h in vitro. Damped PER2 expression in the CeA and ov-BNST could be induced by treatment with corticosterone at 30ng/ml. No endogenously driven expression of PER2 was detected in isolated cultures of BLA, though PER2 could be induced in cultures from this area with 30ng/ml corticosterone. These data demonstrate that none of the nuclei of the extended amygdala examined here contain autonomous circadian oscillators and that rhythmic activity in these nuclei in vivo must be driven by systemic signals or inputs from other brain areas.