Larson-Prior L J, Siuciak J A, Dubocovich M L
Department of Neuroscience and Anatomy, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey 17033, USA.
Eur J Pharmacol. 1996 Feb 15;297(1-2):181-5. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(95)00820-9.
The hormone melatonin is believed to play an important role in the regulation of both circadian and circannual rhythms. In mammalian vertebrates melatonin receptors are discretely localized, with broader distributions reported in avians and reptiles. To examine the sites at which melatonin may act in the turtle brain, 2-[125I]iodomelatonin binding sites were assessed using quantitative autoradiography. Specific binding sites were primarily restricted to forebrain structures with a wide distribution in visual recipient areas. The distribution of melatonin sensitive sites within the turtle visual system suggests that the ability to transduce received photoperiodic signals in the reptilian brain is broadly distributed within the central nervous system.
人们认为激素褪黑素在昼夜节律和年节律的调节中都起着重要作用。在哺乳动物脊椎动物中，褪黑素受体分布离散，而在鸟类和爬行动物中其分布更为广泛。为了研究褪黑素可能在龟脑发挥作用的位点，使用定量放射自显影术评估了2-[¹²⁵I]碘褪黑素结合位点。特异性结合位点主要局限于前脑结构，在视觉接收区域分布广泛。龟视觉系统内褪黑素敏感位点的分布表明，在爬行动物大脑中转换接收到的光周期信号的能力广泛分布于中枢神经系统。
