Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Melatonin and biological rhythms.

¹Neurobiologie des Fonctions Rythmiques et Saisonnières, UMR 7518, CNRS, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France.

Biological Signals and Receptors

|July 19, 2000

Summary

Biological clocks regulate circadian and seasonal rhythms using the hormone melatonin (Mel). Melatonin production duration signals environmental light cues, enabling organisms to adapt their temporal organization.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Validation of locomotion scoring as a new and inexpensive technique to record circadian locomotor activity in large mammals.

Heliyon·2018

Same author

The hormone melatonin: Animal studies.

Best practice & research. Clinical endocrinology & metabolism·2017

Same author

The internal time-giver role of melatonin. A key for our health.

Revue neurologique·2014

Same author

Characterization of melatonin binding sites in the pars tuberalis of the European hamster.

Journal of neuroendocrinology·2011

Same author

Effect of constant light, pinealectomy and guanosine triphosphate gamma-s on the density of melatonin receptors in the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus: a possible implication of melatonin action.

Journal of neuroendocrinology·2011

Same author

Overwinter body temperature patterns in captive jerboas (Jaculus orientalis): influence of sex and group.

Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology·2010

Area of Science:

Chronobiology
Neuroendocrinology
Hormone research

Background:

Circadian and seasonal rhythms are essential biological processes in all organisms.
Melatonin (Mel) is a key hormone produced by the pineal gland, regulated by internal biological clocks.
Melatonin's rhythmic production during darkness acts as a crucial signal from the circadian clock.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the role of melatonin in mediating circadian and seasonal rhythms.
To explore the mechanism by which melatonin conveys photoperiodic information.
To understand the photoneuroendocrine mechanisms underlying melatonin's function in vertebrates.

Main Methods:

Review of existing scientific literature on circadian rhythms, melatonin production, and photoneuroendocrine mechanisms.
Analysis of data on the relationship between melatonin secretion duration and photoperiod.
Comparative examination of melatonin's role across different vertebrate species.

Main Results:

Melatonin production by the pineal gland is directly controlled by circadian clocks and occurs during the dark phase.
The duration of nocturnal melatonin secretion is proportional to the length of the dark period, encoding photoperiodic information.
This melatonin rhythm serves as an endocrine signal for both circadian and seasonal temporal organization in organisms.

Conclusions:

The melatonin rhythm is a fundamental mechanism for integrating environmental light-dark cycles.
The brain utilizes changes in melatonin secretion duration to interpret photoperiodic information.
The photoneuroendocrine mechanism of melatonin action is conserved among vertebrates.

Related Experiment Videos