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Response of human melatonin secretion to changes in nightlength (scotoperiod): Implications for seasonal affective disorder and other psychiatric illnesses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

T.A. Wehr
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Extract

Many of the dramatic seasonal changes that occur in animals are triggered by changes in the length of night. Changes in the duration of melatonin secretion, which usually occurs exclusively at night and therefore lasts longer in winter than in summer, often act as a chemical transducer of the effects of seasonal changes in night-length on animals' behavior and physiology. Cells in sites that regulate seasonal behaviors, such as those associated with breeding, appear to possess melatonin receptors and interval timing mechanisms that enable them to detect melatonin and measure the duration of the nightly interval when it is present. These sites then trigger changes that are appropriate for the season that is indexed by the measured length of the interval.

Keywords

melatonincircadian rhythmseasonal affective disorderseasonsdepressiongendermelatoninecircadiaan ritmewinterdepressieseizoenendepressiegeslacht
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , June 1995 , pp. 35 - 37
Copyright
Copyright © Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology 1995

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References

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