Mechanisms of your “sleep clock” In the 1970s, studies in rats identified the suprachiasmatic nucleus as the location of the internal clock. This cluster of cells is part of the hypothalamus, the brain center that regulates appetite and other biological states (see illustration). When this tiny area was damaged, the sleep/wake rhythm disappeared and the rats no longer slept on a normal schedule. Although the clock is largely self- regulating, its location allows it to respond to several types of external cues to keep it set at 24 hours. Scientists call these cues “zeitgebers,” a German word meaning “time givers.”
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 03:35:32 +0000
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