In mammals, the central circadian oscillator is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis components exhibit circadian oscillation, regulated by both central clock innervation and intrinsic circadian clocks in the anterior pituitary and thyroid glands. Thyroid disorders alter the rhythmicity of peripheral clocks in a tissue-dependent response; however, whether these effects are influenced by alterations in the master clock remains unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chronobiology is the scientific field focused on studying periodicity in biological processes. In mammals, most physiological variables exhibit circadian rhythmicity, such as metabolism, body temperature, locomotor activity, and sleep. The biological rhythmicity can be statistically evaluated by examining the time series and extracting parameters that correlate to the period of oscillation, its amplitude, phase displacement, and overall variability.
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