Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here for more information

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Journal of Biological Rhythms
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by MacGregor, D. J.
Right arrow Articles by Lincoln, G. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by MacGregor, D. J.
Right arrow Articles by Lincoln, G. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

A Physiological Model of a Circannual Oscillator

Duncan J. MacGregor

Centre for Integrative Physiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

Gerald A. Lincoln

Centre for Reproductive Biology, University of Edinburgh, The Queen's Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK, gerald.lincoln{at}ed.ac.uk

Recent evidence based on studies in hypothalamo-pituitary disconnected Soay sheep suggests that the generation of circannual rhythms may be localizable to specific tissues or physiological systems. Now, the authors present a physiological model of a circannual rhythm generator centered in the pituitary gland based on the interaction between melatonin-responsive cells in the pars tuberalis that act to decode photoperiod, and lactotroph cells of the adjacent pars distalis that secrete prolactin. The model produces a self-sustained, circannual rhythm in endocrine output that the authors explore by mathematical modeling. The circannual oscillation requires a delayed negative feedback mechanism. The authors highlight specific features of the pituitary dynamics as a guide to future research on circannual rhythms.

Key Words: circannual rhythm • melatonin • oscillator • pars tuberalis • pituitary gland • prolactin

Journal of Biological Rhythms, Vol. 23, No. 3, 252-264 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0748730408316796
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Phil Trans R Soc BHome page
F. H. Bronson
Climate change and seasonal reproduction in mammals
Phil Trans R Soc B, November 27, 2009; 364(1534): 3331 - 3340.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]