Abstract
1. The effects of photoperiod (16L:8D; 8L:16D) and melatonin treatment (50 μg for seven days) on daily rhythms of body temperature (T(b)) were studied in golden spiny mice Acomys russatus, kept at a constant ambient temperature of 28°C. 2. Results show different patterns of daily T(b) rhythms under the different photoperiod regimes. As a response to melatonin, mice under both photoperiods increased T(b) while rhythm percentage decreased. A phase shift of about 10 h in T(b) acrophase was noted in mice acclimated to 8L:16D. 3. Differences in the patterns of T(b) daily rhythms under the different photoperiod regimes, and difference in response to melatonin, may result from higher endogenous melatonin levels in long scotophase acclimated mice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 219-222 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Journal of Thermal Biology |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 1997 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgements~We thank Mr H. Kosik for maintaining the golden spiny mice colony. We also thank Mr Dick Bruggeman for his helpful remarks on the manuscript. This study was supported by US-Israel Binational Science Foundation grant No. 91-00248.
Keywords
- Body temperature
- Daily rhythms
- Melatonin
- Photoperiod
- Rodents
- Seasonality
- Spiny mouse
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physiology
- Biochemistry
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
- Developmental Biology