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The best studied rhythm in chronobiology is the circadian rhythm, a roughly 24-hour cycle shown by physiological processes in all these organisms. The term circadian comes from the Latin circa, meaning "around" and dies, "day", meaning "approximately a day." It is regulated by circadian clocks.
Overview, including some physiological parameters, of the human circadian rhythm ("biological clock"). Chronobiology is a field of biology that examines timing processes, including periodic (cyclic) phenomena in living organisms, such as their adaptation to solar- and lunar-related rhythms. [1] These cycles are known as biological rhythms.
A circadian rhythm (/ s ər ˈ k eɪ d i ə n /), or circadian cycle, is a natural oscillation that repeats roughly every 24 hours.Circadian rhythms can refer to any process that originates within an organism (i.e., endogenous) and responds to the environment (is entrained by the environment).
Any biological process in the body that repeats itself over a period of approximately 24 hours and maintains this rhythm in the absence of external stimuli is considered a circadian rhythm. [4] It is believed that the brain's suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), or internal pacemaker, is responsible for regulating the body's biological rhythms ...
These variants occur near genes known to be important in photoreception and circadian rhythms. [37] The variant most strongly associated with chronotype occurs near RGS16, which is a regulator of G-protein signalling and has a known role in circadian rhythms. In mice, gene ablation of Rgs16 lengthens the circadian period of behavioural rhythm.
In contrast, circadian rhythms complete one cycle daily, while infradian rhythms such as the menstrual cycle have periods longer than a day. The Oxford English Dictionary 's definition of Ultradian specifies that it refers to cycles with a period shorter than a day but longer than an hour.
Empirically, it is an ultradian rhythm of approximately 90 minutes (80–120 minutes [2]) characterized by different levels of excitement and rest. The cycle is mediated by the human biological clock. It is most readily observed in stages of sleep, for example, rapid eye movement sleep (REM) and the delta activity cycle.
These rhythms are influenced by variable environmental cues, and in some species are influenced by internal cues. In a study conducted by Catalina Reyes, the authors took a further look into how red-eared sliders showed circadian and circannual rhythms in metabolism, and if metabolic rates overall influenced the circadian and circannual cues.