Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 7-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

A behavioural method for accelerating re-entrainment of rhythms to new light—dark cycles

A behavioural method for accelerating re-entrainment of rhythms to new light—dark cycles The idea of ameliorating jetlag with drugs has received considerable attention. Melatonin has been found to reduce feelings of jetlag in people after transatlantic flights1. In hamsters, injections of triazolam, a benzodiazepine, increase the rate of adjustment of activity rhythms to an 8 h advance of the light-dark (LD) cycle2. But melatonin can make people drowsy and triazolam often induces hamsters to run in their wheels2,3. Therefore, it is not clear whether these chemicals exert their chronotypic effects by acting directly on circadian pacemakers or because they first alter behavioural states. Non-photic behavioural events (for instance, social interactions) are capable of entraining rhythms and causing phase shifts4. Thus, it is possible that behavioural events alone could alter the rate of adjustment to new LD cycles. To investigate this possibility, we studied the rate of re-entrainment of hamsters in a testing paradigm similar to that used with triazolam2. We found that the rate of adjustment could be more than doubled simply by making the animals active on a single occasion in the middle of their normal rest period, immediately after the shift in the LD cycle. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Nature Springer Journals

A behavioural method for accelerating re-entrainment of rhythms to new light—dark cycles

Mrosovsky, N.; Salmon, Peggy A.
Nature , Volume 330 (6146) – Nov 26, 1987
Download PDF
2 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer-journals/a-behavioural-method-for-accelerating-re-entrainment-of-rhythms-to-new-izuRC4Nc2g

References (0)

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 1987 by Nature Publishing Group
Subject
Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, multidisciplinary; Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, multidisciplinary; Science, multidisciplinary
ISSN
0028-0836
eISSN
1476-4687
DOI
10.1038/330372a0
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The idea of ameliorating jetlag with drugs has received considerable attention. Melatonin has been found to reduce feelings of jetlag in people after transatlantic flights1. In hamsters, injections of triazolam, a benzodiazepine, increase the rate of adjustment of activity rhythms to an 8 h advance of the light-dark (LD) cycle2. But melatonin can make people drowsy and triazolam often induces hamsters to run in their wheels2,3. Therefore, it is not clear whether these chemicals exert their chronotypic effects by acting directly on circadian pacemakers or because they first alter behavioural states. Non-photic behavioural events (for instance, social interactions) are capable of entraining rhythms and causing phase shifts4. Thus, it is possible that behavioural events alone could alter the rate of adjustment to new LD cycles. To investigate this possibility, we studied the rate of re-entrainment of hamsters in a testing paradigm similar to that used with triazolam2. We found that the rate of adjustment could be more than doubled simply by making the animals active on a single occasion in the middle of their normal rest period, immediately after the shift in the LD cycle.

Journal

Nature – Springer Journals

Published: Nov 26, 1987

There are no references for this article.