Ultradian Rhythms from Molecules to Mind

Ultradian rhythms play an essential part at all levels of biological organization, providing time keeping for the intracellular processes, playing various roles in intracellular signaling systems and underpinning coherent behavior in tissues and organs. They are crucial to endocrine and neuronal performances and in psychobiology. This book brings together the evidence for these findings. In lower eukaryotes short-period rhythms (period 30-70 min) are coupled to an ultradian clock which serves as a central timekeeper. In metazoans, similar rhythms are necessary for intercell communications, and temporal coupling for the coordination of integrated functions of tissues and organs to provide ‘homeodynamics’ of the whole Organism. Electrical, endocrine and behavioral rhythms characterize both wakefulness and sleep; Pathologically disordered states give rise to dynamic diseases. Chapters on human movements, sleep, attention span and alertness indicate the broad span of this subject. A continuum can now be traced from the molecule from the molecular genetic, through the cellular and neuroendocrine to the behavioral and psychosocial levels.