Significance of biological rhythm study for human biometeorology

Abstract

The significance of biological rhythms for biometeorological research is reviewed, with special reference to man. Among external influences cosmic agents (mostly periodic) and meteorological agents (largely non-periodic)are discussed, as acting upon rhythmic of non-rhythmic biological transducers. It is stressed that there are two directions of relation: (1) from external agent to rhythm, synchronizing or modulating it; and (2) rhythms may sinply be a tool for studying meteorological non-periodic influences. Several characteristics of rhythms make them suited for the latter and special statistical methods, apart from the classical frequency analyses, may be fashioned for this. The discussion furthermore covers different types of synchronizers, their characteristics, pathways and possible modes of action;also the three main different types of external conditions such as constancy, “normal” conditions, and the experimental day with fixed light-dark changes. Tidal, lunar and seasonal rhythms are mentioned; also meteorotropic diseases, balneotherapy, and other rhythms in disease;spontaneous biological oscillators (with or without external correlates) and their control,multioscillator theories, linear and nonlinear interaction between oscillators; hidden and disturbed periodicities, transient damped oscillations, the ringing response,parametric control; phase and frequency synchronization, including translongitudinal travel and space conditions.