Chapter 12 Light entrainment of the mammalian biological clock

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Mammalian circadian rhythms are controlled by a pacemaker that is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus. The SCN produces rhythms of roughly 24 hours. In the external world, circadian rhythms are entrained to the environmental light/dark cycle and adopt the external period of 24 hours. As a consequence, animals time their behaviour properly in view of the light/dark cycle that enhances their chance of survival. In this chapter, the current knowledge on photo entrainment is reviewed. The photic entrainment of the biological pacemaker is based on adjustments to the light/dark cycle made possible by a phase-dependent responsiveness of the pacemaker to light. Additional mechanisms increase the animal's ability to entrain. The magnitude of a phase shift that can be obtained at a given phase of the circadian cycle depends on (a) light intensity, (b) duration of a light pulse, and (c) wavelength of light. The role of any of these three parameters is investigated by manipulating only one of them while keeping the other two constant.

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