June 2020

Chronobiology: The Dynamic Field of Rhythm and Clock Genes

Article Courtesy of The Institute of Functional Medicine Chronobiology & Circadian Medicine Chronobiology is the study of biologic rhythms, including circadian rhythms, that follow a daily or ~24-hour cycle. Sleeping at night and being awake during the day is an example of a circadian rhythm related to light. In this instance, the daily light and dark cycle is an important zeitgeber, or natural time cue that influences the circadian pattern.1 Our internal biological clocks produce circadian rhythms that are regulated through clock genes and are involved in the essential functioning of both central and peripheral tissues.1,2 Specifically, to modulate various body processes, core clock genes known as period and cryptochrome genes are believed to act as transcriptional regulators that affect the circadian expression of certain rhythmically expressed genes and...