• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
Chapter 3
Circadian Rhythms
 
Contents
 Page
GENERAL PROPERTIES OF CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37
THE CELLULAR CLOCK
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
THE PACEMAKER IN THE BRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...........40HUMAN CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
41
The Body Circadian . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
42The Timing of Sleep . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45
Human Performance
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
47DISRUPTION OF CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,...49Aging and the Body Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
Sleep Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
51
Chronobiology and Mood Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
CONTROLLING CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS IN HUMANS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
53
Light
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
53Melatonin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Benzodiazepines
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
Other Chemical Substances and Diet
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
57
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.+....*.
58
CHAPTER PREFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
 Boxes
 Box
 Page
3-A. Circadian Rhythms and Drugs
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
q
. . . . . . . . . . . .
.
43
3-B. Cycles That Last From Minutes To Days
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
3-C. Napping
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46
3-D. Jet Lag
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
48
 Figures
 Figure
3-1. Circadian Rhythm3-2. Synchronized and
 Page
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37
Free-Running Circadian Rhythms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3-3. Phase Response Curve
-
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
39
3-4. Gene Expression in the Pacemaker
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
403-5. The Transplanted Pacemaker
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
....*.,. . . . . . . . .41
3-6. Human Circadian Rhythms
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
423-7. Human Circadian Rhythms in the Absence of Time Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3-8. Sleepiness During the Day
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
473-9. Circadian Rhythms of Alertness . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
. . .
. . . . . .
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
. . .
49
3-10. Aging and the Pacemaker
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .*.....* . . .
50
3-11. Levels of Light
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
52
3-12. Resetting the Human Pacemaker With Light
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....*.., . . .54
3-13. Bright Light and Air Travel
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
....,.*,
. . . . . . . .55
3-14. Melatonin Rhythms and Light
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
Table
Table
3-1. Differences Between Rapid Eye Movement
Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
 Page
(REM) Sleep and
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45
 
Chapter 3
Circadian Rhythms
Many biological functions wax and wane incycles that repeat each day, month, or year. Such
patterns do not reflect simply an organism’s passive
response to environmental changes, such as dailycycles of light and darkness. Rather, they reflect theorganism’s biological rhythms, that is, its ability tokeep track of time and to direct changes in functionaccordingly. Biological rhythms that repeat ap-proximately every 24 hours are called circadianrhythms (from the Latin
circa,
for around, and
dies,
for day) (61) (figure 3-l).Human functions, ranging from the production of certain hormones to sleep and wakefulness, demon-strate circadian rhythms. This chapter summarizesthe basic properties of circadian rhythms and ad-dresses the following questions:How are circadian rhythms generated?How are they influenced by the environment?What specific human functions display cir-cadian rhythms?What implications do these rhythms have forhealth and performance?How can circadian rhythms be manipulated?
GENERAL PROPERTIES OF
CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS
Circadian rhythms display several important char-
acteristics. First, circadian rhythms are generatedby an internal clock, or pacemaker (9,124).
Therefore, even in the absence of cues indicating thetime or length of day, circadian rhythms persist. The
precise length of a cycle varies somewhat among
individuals and species. Although organisms gener-
ate circadian rhythms internally, they are ordinarilyexposed to daily cycles in the environment, such aslight and darkness. The internal clock that drivescircadian rhythms is synchronized, or entrained,to daily time cues in the environment (figure 3-2).Animal research has shown that only a few such
cues, such as light-dark cycles, are effective entrain-
ing agents (12). In fact, the light-dark cycle is theprincipal entraining agent in most species, andrecent research suggests that it is very powerful in
synchronizing human circadian rhythms. The sleep-
wake schedule and social cues may also be impor-tant entraining agents in humans.
.-
An entraining agent can actually reset, orphase shift, the internal clock (12). Depending onwhen an organism is exposed to such an agent,circadian rhythms may be advanced, delayed, or notshifted at all. This variable shifting of the internalclock is illustrated in a phase response curve (PRC)(figure 3-3). PRCs were first derived by exposingorganisms housed in constant darkness to shortpulses of light (40,65,125). The organisms wereisolated from all external time cues. When lightpulses were delivered during the portion of theorganism’s internal cycle that normally occurs
during the day (therefore called subjective day), they
had little effect on circadian rhythms. In contrast,when light pulses were delivered late during theorganism’s nighttime, circadian rhythms were ad-vanced. Light pulses delivered early during sub- jective night delayed circadian rhythms.Several factors make it difficult to identify timecues that can reset the internal clock. First, there isno way to examine the function of the circadianpacemaker directly. The pacemaker’s activity canonly be evaluated through the circadian rhythms itdrives, but unfortunately such functions are subject
to other influences. Environmental stimuli may alter
a particular circadian rhythm without disturbing the
Figure 3-l—Circadian Rhythm
5
MaximumAmplitude
4
i’
-
flGr
 
Cycle length
K
o
-
Mean
G3
c
 —
li2
i
Minimum
1224
Time (hours)
Circadian rhythms have a single cycle length of approximately 24hours. The amplitude, a measure of the degree of variation within
a cycle, is the difference between the maximum value and themean.
SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment, 1991.
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...