Schull J, McEachron D L, Adler N T, Fiedler L, Horvitz J, Noyes A, Olson M, Shack J
Department of Psychology, Haverford College, PA 19041.
Physiol Behav. 1988;42(1):33-9. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(88)90256-9.
Circadian rhythms and levels of wheelrunning were studied in thyroidectomized, parathyroidectomized, thyro-parathyroidectomized, and sham-operated male rats. Animals were entrained to a 12:12 light:dark schedule, then exposed to constant dim red illumination, and then given a diet containing lithium. Under constant conditions, free-running circadian activity rhythms were shorter, and levels of activity were greater, in thyroidectomized and thyroparathyroidectomized animals. Lithium reversed these effects, lengthening free-running circadian periods in all groups, with a greater reduction of activity observed in animals with thyroids removed. Parathyroidectomy had no clear effects. Since lithium slowed circadian rhythms and reduced activity even in the absence of intact thyroid or parathyroid glands, these effects may have been due to the action of lithium at some other site. The same may be true of other thyroid suppressors reported to affect circadian rhythms. These findings may be relevant to the biological substrates of major affective disorders in humans, which have been associated with abnormalities of thyroid function, abnormally short circadian rhythms, abnormal activity levels, and responsiveness to lithium therapy.
对甲状腺切除、甲状旁腺切除、甲状腺-甲状旁腺切除以及假手术的雄性大鼠的昼夜节律和转轮活动水平进行了研究。动物先被置于12:12光照:黑暗周期中，然后暴露于持续昏暗的红色光照下，接着给予含锂饮食。在恒定条件下，甲状腺切除和甲状腺-甲状旁腺切除的动物的自由运行昼夜活动节律较短，活动水平较高。锂逆转了这些效应，延长了所有组的自由运行昼夜周期，在甲状腺切除的动物中观察到活动减少更为明显。甲状旁腺切除没有明显影响。由于即使在没有完整甲状腺或甲状旁腺的情况下锂也会减缓昼夜节律并降低活动，这些效应可能是由于锂在其他部位的作用。据报道影响昼夜节律的其他甲状腺抑制剂可能也是如此。这些发现可能与人类主要情感障碍的生物学基础相关，这些障碍与甲状腺功能异常、异常短的昼夜节律、异常活动水平以及对锂治疗的反应有关。
