"Demasking" the Temperature Rhythm after Simulated Time Zone Transitions

Abstract

Simulated time zone transitions were performed in an isolation unit upon groups of one to four human subjects. In the first series of experiments, the adjustment of the circadian rhythm of body temperature, measured in the presence of sleep and other masking factors, was assessed by cosinor analysis and by cross-correlation methods. These methods modeled the circadian timing system either as a single component or as the sum of two components, those due to exogenous and endogenous influences. The one-component models described a more rapid adjustment of the temperature rhythm to the time zone transition than did the two-component models; we attribute this difference to the masking effects of the exogenous component. In a second series of experiments, we showed that the shift of the endogenous component, as assessed by the two-component models, was not significantly different from that measured during constant routines. The results also showed that, if the zeitgebers were phased in advance of the endogenous component, then advances of the endogenous component were produced only if this mismatch was less than about 10 hr. Mismatches greater than this, and cases where the zeitgebers were delayed with respect to the endogenous component, both produced delays of the endogenous component. We conclude that the two-component cross-correlation methods can be used to estimate shifts of the endogenous component of a circadian rhythm in the presence of masking factors. They are therefore an alternative to constant routines when these latter are impracticable to carry out.