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Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Polygraphic Recording Procedure for Measuring Sleep in Mice
Published on: January 25, 2016
Melatonin has multiorgan effects
Lionel H Opie1, Sandrine Lecour2
1Department of Medicine, Hatter Cardiovascular Institute for Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa lionel.opie@uct.ac.za.
Abstract:
Melatonin, widely used to counter transatlantic travel jet lag and insomnia, is synthesized in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the anterior pituitary gland. Its release into the circulation is stimulated by the onset of darkness, followed by a progressive decrease in blood levels with the onset of dawn. Melatonin administration can maintain the quality of sleep and help to counteract age-induced cognitive decline. Melatonin can also limit the severity of a variety of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer.
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