PSYC388 - Module 2: Why study circadian rhythms?

what are the 10 reasons we study circadian rhythms?

1. physiological regulation & associated motivational states

2. research design

3. understanding how time is represented in the brain

4. behavioural ecology

5. working in a 24hr world

6. sleep disorders

7. psychopathology

8. aging & dementia

9. medicine

10. intrinsic interest

Why is studying circadian rhythms important for physiological regulation & associated motivational states? (4)

1. helps us understand where spontaneous behaviours come from.

2. explains why we sleep at night and are awake during the day.

3. Know how our bodies keep homeostasis

4. We change depending on the time of day, so we need to consider the biological clock to fully understand them.

Why is studying circadian rhythms important for research design?

1. if researchers don't control for the time of day, it can lead to false results or

2. cause more variation in the data,

3. which makes it harder to see if a treatment actually works.

Why is studying circadian rhythms important for understanding how time is represented in the brain?

1. We can sense and estimate time over different lengths, from milliseconds to hours,

2. but we don't fully understand how the brain does this.

3. gives clues about how the brain handles timing.

Why is studying circadian rhythms important for behavioural ecology? (the study of how animals adapt behaviourally to particular environmental niches.)

1. It shows when animals are active and how they adapt to their surroundings.

2. Knowing their daily patterns helps explain how they survive, avoid predators, and find food in the wild.

Why is studying circadian rhythms important for working in a 24h world?

1. Working against your body clock can lead to mistakes, accidents, and lower productivity,

2. Circadian biology can help us find ways to reduce these negative effects.

Why is studying circadian rhythms important for sleep disorders?

Labeling sleep disorders creates a market for drugs to manage them

Why is studying circadian rhythms important for psychopathology?

insights into the causes of some psychopathologies and

may suggest new treatment approaches

Why is studying circadian rhythms important for aging and dementia?

1. circadian rhythms are affected by aging

2. disruption of rhythms may impair other functions

3. Treatments for weak circadian rhythms and poor sleep in aged people are being tested as possible therapies for age related impairments in cognition

Why is studying circadian rhythms important for medicine?

Franz Halberg: Chronomedicine

1. diagnosis

2. treatment (chronotherapeutics)

3. understanding disease (ie. cancer)