PERSISTENT RHYTHMS OF PINEAL AND SERUM MELATONIN IN COCKERELS IN CONTINUOUS DARKNESS

in Journal of Endocrinology
Authors:
C. L. RALPH
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R. W. PELHAM
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S. E. MACBRIDE
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DIANE P. REILLY
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SUMMARY

The melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) content of the pineal body and serum of White Leghorn cockerels (Gallus domesticus) appears to vary cyclically, with a higher level of both found at the mid-point of the dark period than at the mid-point of the light period when the animals were kept in a diurnal light cycle. These rhythmic variations persisted, although with an apparently lower amplitude, when the animals were maintained in continuous darkness for 2 weeks. The oscillations appeared to be free-running, circadian rhythms and to be phase-locked with the locomotor activity rhythms of the individual birds studied.

 

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