Armstrong S M, Cassone V M, Chesworth M J, Redman J R, Short R V
J Neural Transm Suppl. 1986;21:375-94.
While pinealectomy (Px) has little effect on mammalian circadian rhythms, daily injections of the pineal hormone melatonin in rats have profound effects. These can be classified according to their effects under three categories of desynchronization: external desynchronization, internal desynchronization and phase-shift of the zeitgeber (Aschoff, 1969). Externally desynchronized rats, free-running in constant darkness (DD), can be entrained to a 24-hour regime of melatonin injection. Entrainment depends upon the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) since lesions to the SCN prevent it. Although no animal model for internal desynchronization exists, rats whose circadian rhythms are disrupted or arrhythmic in constant light (LL) are synchronized by daily melatonin injection, and the rate and direction of responses to phase-shift of the zeitgeber can be altered with daily melatonin administration. These and other results suggest melatonin may be useful therapeutically for such human desynchronizations as jet-lag and shiftwork, and preliminary data using human subjects are presented.
虽然松果体切除（Px）对哺乳动物的昼夜节律影响很小，但给大鼠每日注射松果体激素褪黑素却有显著效果。这些效果可根据其在三种不同类型的失同步状态下的作用进行分类：外部失同步、内部失同步和授时因子的相位移动（阿绍夫，1969年）。处于持续黑暗（DD）中自由运行的外部失同步大鼠，可被每日注射褪黑素的24小时节律所诱导。这种诱导依赖于视交叉上核（SCN），因为对SCN的损伤会阻止这种诱导。虽然不存在内部失同步的动物模型，但在持续光照（LL）下昼夜节律被打乱或无节律的大鼠，通过每日注射褪黑素可实现同步，并且通过每日给予褪黑素可以改变对授时因子相位移动的反应速率和方向。这些以及其他结果表明，褪黑素在治疗诸如时差反应和轮班工作等人类失同步情况时可能有用，并展示了使用人类受试者的初步数据。
