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Seasonal Photoperiodic Responses of the Human Circadian System

  • Chapter
Circadian Clocks

Part of the book series: Handbook of Behavioral Neurobiology ((HBNE,volume 12))

Abstract

Among the many external changes to which organisms must adapt is the special class of changes that predictably recur in association with daily and seasonal cycles in the environment. In the course of their evolution, most forms of life have taken advantage of the predictability of these changes by developing temporal programs that trigger adaptive responses to them in anticipation of their periodic recurrence.

The two-oscillator structure we propose for the pacemaker offers a basis for accommodation to seasonal change in two quite different respects. On the one hand it meets the challenge of seasonal change in the pattern of the external day...Its two components, responding differentially to sunrise and sunset, would make the pacemaker an adequate clock for every defferently patterned day in the year. On the other hand that same complexity is a potential sensor for the time of year. It is a clock for all season.

Collin S. Pittendrigh and Serge Daan, 1976c

In most considerations of melatonin rhythms in nonhuman mammals, it is usual to consider the duration of the melatonin peak or the phasing of the rhythm as being important...while less attention is given to the magnitude of the nocturnal melatonin increase. Conversely, in the human the primary concern of many investigators...is the height of the melatonin peak with less attention being paid to the duration of the peak or the phasing of the rhythm. Why the emphasis varies according to species is not clear.

Russel J. Reiter, 1987

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Psychobiology Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892

    Thomas A. Wehr

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  1. Thomas A. Wehr
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  1. Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Joseph S. Takahashi , Fred W. Turek  & Robert Y. Moore ,  & 

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Wehr, T.A. (2001). Seasonal Photoperiodic Responses of the Human Circadian System. In: Takahashi, J.S., Turek, F.W., Moore, R.Y. (eds) Circadian Clocks. Handbook of Behavioral Neurobiology, vol 12. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1201-1_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1201-1_27

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