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Science 15 February 1985:
Vol. 227. no. 4688, pp. 714 - 720
DOI: 10.1126/science.3881822
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Articles

Science, Vol 227, Issue 4688, 714-720
Copyright © 1985 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Melatonin: a coordinating signal for mammalian reproduction?

L Tamarkin, CJ Baird, and OF Almeida

There is a daily rhythm in the production of the pineal hormone melatonin in all mammalian species. Production is stimulated by darkness and inhibited by light. This provides a signal reflecting the changing environmental lighting cycle. In seasonally breeding mammals that use changes in the photoperiod to time their reproductive cycles, temporal signals to the reproductive system are controlled by the daily rhythm in melatonin production.


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Absence of an Increase in the Duration of the Circadian Melatonin Secretory Episode in Totally Blind Human Subjects.
E. B. Klerman, J. M. Zeitzer, J. F. Duffy, S. B. S. Khalsa, and C. A. Czeisler (2001)
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Circadian Clock Controlling Egg Hatching in the Cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus).
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HIOMT drives the photoperiodic changes in the amplitude of the melatonin peak of the Siberian hamster.
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Photoneural Regulation of Rat Pineal Hydroxyindole-O-Methyltransferase (HIOMT) Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Expression: An Analysis of Its Complex Relationship with HIOMT Activity.
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Circadian Entrainment and Phase Shifting in Mammals with Melatonin.
J. R. Redman (1997)
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Daily and Photoperiodic Melatonin Binding Changes in the Suprachiasmatic Nuclei, Paraventricular Thalamic Nuclei, and Pars Tuberalis of the Female Siberian Hamster (Phodopus sungorus).
J. Recio, P. Pevet, B. Vivien-Roels, J. M. Miguez, and M. Masson-Pevet (1996)
J Biol Rhythms 11, 325-332
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Transcriptional control of circadian hormone synthesis via the CREM feedback loop.
N. S. Foulkes, J. Borjigin, S. H. Snyder, and P. Sassone-Corsi (1996)
PNAS 93, 14140-14145
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Melatonin and Light Induce Phase Shifts of Circadian Activity Rhythms in the C3H/HeN Mouse.
S. Benloucif and M. L. Dubocovich (1996)
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Rhythmic Transcription and Autoregulatory Loops: Nuclear Pacemaker CREM.
M. Lamas, E. Lalli, N.S. Foulkes, and P. Sassone-Corsi (1996)
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Light Control of the Duration of the Daily Melatonin Signal Under Long and Short Days in the Soay Ram: Role of Inhibition and Entrainment.
R.A. Picazo and G.A. Lincoln (1995)
J Biol Rhythms 10, 55-63
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Effects of the Menstrual Cycle on Dependent Variables in Mood Disorder Research.
E. Leibenluft, P. L. Fiero, and D. R. Rubinow (1994)
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Sensitivity of Syrian Hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) to Amplitudes and Rates of Photoperiodic Change Typical of the Tropics.
P. D. Heideman and F.H. Bronson (1993)
J Biol Rhythms 8, 325-337
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Phase Shifts in the Circadian Rhythm in Plasma Concentrations of Melatonin in Rams Induced by a 1-Hour Light Pulse.
K.-I. Maeda and G.A. Lincoln (1990)
J Biol Rhythms 5, 97-106
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Illuminance Threshold for Maintenance of Testes in Syrian Hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) Is Higher in Continuous Light than in Long Photoperiods.
C. E. McCormack (1990)
J Biol Rhythms 5, 107-118
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Putative melatonin receptors in a human biological clock.
S. Reppert, D. Weaver, S. Rivkees, and E. Stopa (1988)
Science 242, 78-81
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Axon-Sparing Lesions of the Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus Abolish Gonadal Responses to Photoperiod in Male Syrian Hamsters.
M. H. Brown, L. L. Badura, and A. A. Nunez (1988)
J Biol Rhythms 3, 59-69
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Phototherapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder.
N. E. Rosenthal, D. A. Sack, R. G. Skwerer, F. M. Jacobsen, and T. A. Wehr (1988)
J Biol Rhythms 3, 101-120
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Neurobiology of Seasonal Affective Disorder and Phototherapy.
R. G. Skwerer, F. M. Jacobsen, C. C. Duncan, K. A. Kelly, D. A. Sack, L. Tamarkin, P. A. Gaist, S. Kasper, and N. E. Rosenthal (1988)
J Biol Rhythms 3, 135-154
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Neuroendocrine Response to 5-Hydroxytryptophan in Seasonal Affective Disorder.
F. M. Jacobsen, D. A. Sack, T. A. Wehr, S. Rogers, and N. E. Rosenthal (1987)
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Genetic control of melatonin synthesis in the pineal gland of the mouse.
S Ebihara, T Marks, D. Hudson, and M Menaker (1986)
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