The Biological Clock and the circadian rhythms of mammals: a history contextualization

Authors

  • Leila Eliza Barbosa Lima Universidade de São Paulo. Instituto de Biociências. Departamento de Fisiologia
  • Natalí Nadia Guerrero Vargas Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Departamento de Fisiología Celular

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7594/revbio.12.02.01

Keywords:

Circadian rhythm, Oscillator, Suprachiasmatic nuclei, Clock genes.

Abstract

The term “biological clock” refers to the set of endogenous mechanisms able to confer rhythmicity to physiological and behavioral processes in the body, regardless of external environmental cues. The structures responsible for generating this rhythmicity are called “oscillators” and its circadian oscillatory ability is due to the rhythmic expression of certain proteins throughout the day, encoded by “clock genes”. In mammals, the central oscillator is composed of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), which are able to synchronize the rhythm of the other body cells and peripheral oscillators to the environmental light / dark cycle, allowing the body to be able to predict the external circadian variations. Genetic or environmental factors that impair this synchrony may cause several physiological disorders, including some forms of cancer

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2018-04-23

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2014)

Section

Revisão

License

We ensure that our journal does not retain any copyright and that these are exclusive of the author(s) of the text. In that sense, we intend to break any restrictions to the published material and to achieve more intensely our goal of communicating science.

How to Cite

Lima, L. E. B., & Vargas, N. N. G. (2018). The Biological Clock and the circadian rhythms of mammals: a history contextualization. Revista Da Biologia, 12(2), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.7594/revbio.12.02.01