Abstract
This chapter summarizes the current knowledge about the circadian system and its organization and provides an overview of chronobiological studies in which age or dementia has been treated as independent variable. It also discusses the relevance of considering circadian variations in gerontology and indicates possible fruitful future directions of the research related to aging and circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms—that is, rhythmic changes with a periodicity of approximately 24 hours—can be observed in organisms ranging from protozoans to humans. Organization in the dimension time is a pervasive characteristic of living systems. The circadian timekeeping system appears to be changed during aging in both animals and humans. Because of the growing interest in gerontology, the number of functional systems for which age-related changes are described is continuously increasing. In contrast to some other systems sensitive to the effects of aging, the circadian timekeeping system is directly implicated in the organization of various important physiological functions. The reduction in suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) cell number found in old age and even stronger in Alzheimer's disease represents a possible morphological correlate of circadian rhythm alterations in old age.
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