Sánchez de la Peña S, Brown G M, Ungar F, Marques N, Scheving L E, Grota L J, Halberg F
Chronobiologia. 1986 Oct-Dec;13(4):329-33.
The investment into the design of a study is usually and unfortunately proportional to the available information, i.e. the less one knows the more one is tempted to skimp and perform a minimal 'pilot' study. This is particularly true with respect to chronobiology. On the contrary, at the outset of a study, when the information available regarding a given problem is minimal or zero, the investment into a first study should be near-maximal. Accordingly, the often wasted 'pilot study' should be replaced by a rigorous chronobiologic lead study. The promise of such a chronobiologic 'guide, leading along a difficult or unknown course' is illustrated by the validation with statistical significance of an about-weekly (circaseptan) and an about 24-h (circadian) rhythm in the melatonin content of the murine pineal. Work around the clock on 48 female Lewis/S rats was avoided. Replication of 6 different circadian times on different comparable animals on consecutive days assessed a circaseptan rhythm more prominent than the concomitantly demonstrated circadian, at no added cost for experimental animals beyond those often used for circadian study and with no work around the clock.
对一项研究设计的投入通常且遗憾地与可获得的信息成比例，也就是说，知道得越少，就越容易想要节省开支并进行一项最小规模的“预试验”研究。这在时间生物学方面尤其如此。相反，在一项研究开始时，当关于某个特定问题的可用信息极少或为零时，对第一项研究的投入应该接近最大。因此，经常被浪费的“预试验”应该被一项严格的时间生物学先导研究所取代。小鼠松果体褪黑素含量中大约每周一次（近七日节律）和大约24小时一次（昼夜节律）的节律具有统计学意义的验证，说明了这种时间生物学“指南，引领艰难或未知的道路”的前景。避免了对48只雌性Lewis/S大鼠进行全天候的研究。在连续几天对不同的可比动物在6个不同的昼夜时间点进行重复实验，评估出一种比同时显示的昼夜节律更显著的近七日节律，在不增加超出通常用于昼夜节律研究的实验动物数量且无需全天候工作的情况下。
