[Is the biological clock central to the aging process? Studies in a non-human primate]

The ability of organisms to adapt to their environment during aging is altered. Age-related disorders in Human include disturbances of biological rhythms, especially sleep-wake rhythms alterations, and perturbations of body temperature and hormone secretion. The alteration of biological rhythms with age leads to major health consequences, particularly due to the alteration of sleep-wake rhythms that causes a strong alteration of the general condition. The study of these changes is therefore a major health issue and requires the use of appropriate animal models such as the grey mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus), a small Madagascar primate with very pronounced biological rhythms.