PSYCH261 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Circadian Rhythm, Circadian Clock, Zeitgeber

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH261
• Professor: Daniel Smilek

Document Summary

Birds generate a rhythm that prepares them for seasonal changes. Animals also produce endogenous circadian rhythms that last about a day. Human also generate 24-hour wake-sleep rhythms and we can modify them only a little. Circadian rhythms affect much more than just waking and sleeping. We have circadian rhythms in our eating and drinking, urination, hormone secretion, metabolism, sensitivity to drugs, and other variables. from 24 hours fail to follow that schedule and instead become wakeful and sleepy on about a. A: people who have lived in an environment with a light-dark schedule much different. Circadian rhythms persist without light, but light is still critical for resetting them. The stimulus that resets the circadian rhythm is referred to zeitgeber, (cid:373)ea(cid:374)i(cid:374)g (cid:862)ti(cid:373)e-gi(cid:448)er(cid:863) Light is the dominant zeitgeber for land animals, whereas the tides are important for some marine animals. In addition to light, other zeitgebers include exercise, arousal of any kind, meals, and the temperature of the environment.