Familial Circadian Rhythm Disorder in the Diurnal Primate, Macaca mulatta

Abstract

In view of the inverse temporal relationship of central clock activity to physiological or behavioral outputs in diurnal and nocturnal species, understanding the mechanisms and physiological consequences of circadian disorders in humans would benefit from studies in a diurnal animal model, phylogenetically close to humans. Here we report the discovery of the first intrinsic circadian disorder in a family of diurnal non-human primates, the rhesus monkey. The disorder is characterized by a combination of delayed sleep phase, relative to light-dark cycle, mutual desynchrony of intrinsic rhythms of activity, food intake and cognitive performance, enhanced nighttime feeding or, in the extreme case, intrinsic asynchrony. The phenotype is associated with normal length of intrinsic circadian period and requires an intact central clock, as demonstrated by an SCN lesion. Entrainment to different photoperiods or melatonin administration does not eliminate internal desynchrony, though melatonin can temporarily reinstate intrinsic activity rhythms in the animal with intrinsic asynchrony. Entrainment to restricted feeding is highly effective in animals with intrinsic or SCN lesion-induced asynchrony. The large isolated family of rhesus macaques harboring the disorder provides a powerful new tool for translational research of regulatory circuits underlying circadian disorders and their effective treatment.

Why do captive pied tamarins give birth during the day?

“…There was no evidence that diurnal births in pied tamarins were limited to only a few individual females or particular matrilines, or that tamarins were either more or less likely to give birth during the day as the number of generations in captivity increased. Furthermore, we had no indication of any other form of circadian disturbance in the tamarins, so it seems unlikely that a genetic disorder such as the one reported by Zhdanova et al [] in Macaca mulatta can explain our results.…”

Woman-centered research on access to safe abortion services and implications for behavioral change communication interventions: a cross-sectional study of women in Bihar and Jharkhand, India

“…The Behavioral Model of Health Services Use [ 31 - 33 ] is a useful conceptual model for understanding how interventions such as BCC campaigns can increase access to safe abortion services. Andersen delineates between potential access, which he defines as having enabling resources, and realized access, defined as use of health services [ 32 ].…”

Food entrainment: major and recent findings

“…Cyclic food availability is one of them. Its effect on circadian rhythms has been mostly studied in rodents, but lagomorphs, marsupials, carnivores, and primates also entrain to scheduled food availability (O'Reilly et al, 1986; Zielinski, 1986; Boulos et al, 1989; Kennedy et al, 1990; Jilge, 1992; Juárez et al, 2012; Ware et al, 2012; Zhdanova et al, 2012). This non-photic entrainment is characterized by an increase in locomotion in the hours preceding food delivery.…”