Circadian Core Body Temperature Research Articles

Estimating the Lowest Point in the Circadian Core Body Temperature Rhythm Using Electrocardiogram during Sleep

Estimating the Lowest Point in the Circadian Core Body Temperature Rhythm Using Electrocardiogram during Sleep

Primary role for melatonin MT2 receptors in the regulation of anhedonia and circadian temperature rhythm

Circadian rhythms disturbance is widely observable in patients with major depression (MD) and is also associated with depression vulnerability. Of them, disturbed melatonin secretion rhythm is particularly relevant to MD and is strongly phase-locked to core body temperature (CBT) rhythm.Here we aim to study the specific role of each melatonin receptor (MT1 and MT2) subtype in melatonin regulation of circadian CBT and its possible relationship with depressive-like behaviors.MT1-/- , MT2-/- and WT (C57BL/6) mice were used. Anhedonia, using the sucrose intake test, circadian CBT, environmental place preference (EPP) conditioning and vulnerability to chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) procedure were studied. Moreover, the antidepressant effects of reboxetine (15 mg/kg/day, i.p.) for three weeks or ketamine (15 mg/kg i.p. every four days, 4 doses in total) were studied. Further, exposure to ultra-mild stress induced by individual housing for several weeks was also studied in these mice.MT2-/- mice showed anhedonia and lower CBT compared to WT and MT1-/-. In addition, while reward exposure raised nocturnal CBT in WT this increase did not take place in MT2-/- mice. Further, MT2-/- mice showed an enhanced vulnerability to stress-induced anhedonia and social avoidance as well as an impaired acquisition of novelty seeking behavior. Both reboxetine and ketamine reverted anhedonia and induced a clear anti-helpless behavior in the tail suspension test (TST). Reboxetine raised CBT in mice and reverted ultra-mild stress-induced anhedonia.Our findings show a primary role for MT2 receptors in the regulation of circadian CBT as well as anhedonia and suggest that these receptors could be involved in depressive disorders associated to disturbed melatonin function.

Changes in TRPV1-Mediated Physiological Function in Rats Systemically Treated With Capsaicin on the Neonate.

Capsaicin is the active component of chili peppers and is a hydrophobic, colorless, odorless, and crystalline to waxy compound. The transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) is the capsaicin receptor channels that are involved in a variety of functions like transduction and transmission of the physiological stimulus. Subcutaneous injection of capsaicin to a newborn rat leads to involuntary lifelong TRPV1 desensitization. Various physiological changes including sensory and homeostatic actions in the body associated with neonatal capsaicin treatment are induced by direct TRPV1 channel targeting. Interesting changes include unique phenomena such as the reduction in pain perception, abnormal body temperature, increase in infection, infectious or neuropathological itching, and irregular circadian core body temperature rhythm. These symptoms are associated with relatively higher fever or loss of sensory c-fiber related to TRPV1 desensitization. The aforementioned outcomes not only provide a warning about the risk of capsaicin exposure in newborns but also indicate the possible occurrence of relatively rare diseases that are difficult to diagnose. Therefore, Therefore, the present review aims to summarize the unique phenomena caused by systemic capsaicin administration in neonatal rats.

Assessing the role of nocturnal core body temperature dysregulation as a biomarker of neurodegeneration.

The vast majority of patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder will develop a neurodegenerative α-synuclein-related condition, such as Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies. The pathology underlying dream enactment overlaps anatomically with the brainstem regions that regulate circadian core body temperature. Previously, nocturnal core body temperature regulation has been shown to be impaired in Parkinson's disease. However, no study to date has investigated nocturnal core body temperature changes in patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder, which may prove to be an early objective biomarker for α-synucleinopathies. Ten healthy controls, 15 patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder, 31 patients with Parkinson's disease and six patients with dementia with Lewy bodies underwent clinical assessment and nocturnal polysomnography with core body temperature monitoring. A validated cosinor method was utilised for core body temperature analysis. No differences in mesor, nadir or time of nadir were observed between groups. However, when compared with healthy controls, the amplitude of the nocturnal core body temperature (mesor minus nadir) was significantly reduced in patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder, Parkinson's disease with concurrent rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder and dementia with Lewy bodies (p<0.001, p=0.043 and p=0.017, respectively). Importantly, this relationship was not seen in those patients with Parkinson's disease without rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder. In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between amplitude of the core body temperature and self-reported rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder symptoms. Changes in thermoregulatory circadian rhythm may be specifically associated with the pathology underlying rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder rather than simply that of α-synucleinopathy. These findings implicate thermoregulatory dysfunction as a potential early biomarker for development of rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder-associated neurodegeneration, and suggest that subpopulations with differing pathological underpinnings might exist in Parkinson's disease.

The circadian rhythm of core body temperature (Part I): The use of modern telemetry systems to monitor core body temperature variability

Abstract The best known daily rhythms in humans include: the sleep-wake rhythm, the circadian core body temperature variability, daily fluctuations in arterial blood pressure and heartbeat frequency, and daily changes in hormone secretion: e.g. melatonin, cortisol, growth hormone, prolactin. The core body temperature in humans has a characteristic sinusoidal course, with the maximum value occurring between 3:00-5:00 pm and the minimum between 3:00-5:00 am. Analysis of literature indicates that the obtained results concerning core body temperature are to a large extent influenced by the type of method applied in the measurement. Depending on test protocols, we may apply various methodologies to measuring core body temperature. One of the newest methods of measuring internal and external body temperature consists in the utilisation of remote temperature sensors transmitting the obtained value via a radio signal. The advantages of this method includes the ability to perform: continuous core temperature measurement, observe dynamic changes in core body temperature occurring in circadian rhythm and the repeatability and credibility of the obtained results, which is presented in numerous scientific reports.

Linking Energy Levels in the Circadian Core Body Temperature Cycle to Human Health and Well-Being

The body core temperature is a measure of the health and well-being of a person. This temperature seldom varies from the average of 37 °C (98.6 °F) and has been used to gage a person’s wellness at any time. The current work reviews the published health and medical works about this topic, focusing on the effects of hypothermia, especially with respect to neurological issues. The controversy still exists, and the jury is out. A heat transfer researcher’s insight foresees the possible results and calls for more research in the field. In addition, a perspective is provided for a couple of traditional “truths” about related topics that have been challenged in recent times.

Ring the Bell for Matins: Circadian Adaptation to Split Sleep by Cloistered Monks and Nuns

Cloistered monks and nuns adhere to a 10-century-old strict schedule with a common zeitgeber of a night split by a 2- to 3-h-long Office (Matins). The authors evaluated how the circadian core body temperature rhythm and sleep adapt in cloistered monks and nuns in two monasteries. Five monks and five nuns following the split-sleep night schedule for 5 to 46 yrs without interruption and 10 controls underwent interviews, sleep scales, and physical examination and produced a week-long sleep diary and actigraphy, plus 48-h recordings of core body temperature. The circadian rhythm of temperature was described by partial Fourier time-series analysis (with 12- and 24-h harmonics). The temperature peak and trough values and clock times did not differ between groups. However, the temperature rhythm was biphasic in monks and nuns, with an early decrease at 19:39 ± 4:30 h (median ± 95% interval), plateau or rise of temperature at 22:35 ± 00:23 h (while asleep) lasting 296 ± 39 min, followed by a second decrease after the Matins Office, and a classical morning rise. Although they required alarm clocks to wake-up for Matins at midnight, the body temperature rise anticipated the nocturnal awakening by 85 ± 15 min. Compared to the controls, the monks and nuns had an earlier sleep onset (20:05 ± 00:59 h vs. 00:00 ± 00:54 h, median ± 95% confidence interval, p = .0001) and offset (06:27 ± 0:22 h, vs. 07:37 ± 0:33 h, p = .0001), as well as a shorter sleep time (6.5 ± 0.6 vs. 7.6 ± 0.7 h, p = .05). They reported difficulties with sleep latency, sleep duration, and daytime function, and more frequent hypnagogic hallucinations. In contrast to their daytime silence, they experienced conversations (and occasionally prayers) in dreams. The biphasic temperature profile in monks and nuns suggests the human clock adapts to and even anticipates nocturnal awakenings. It resembles the biphasic sleep and rhythm of healthy volunteers transferred to a short (10-h) photoperiod and provides a living glance into the sleep pattern of medieval time. (Author correspondence: isabelle.arnulf@psl.aphp.fr)

Time Course of Neurobehavioral Alertness During Extended Wakefulness in Morning- and Evening-Type Healthy Sleepers

The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of chronotype (morning-type versus evening-type) living in a fixed sleep-wake schedule different from one's preferred sleep schedules on the time course of neurobehavioral performance during controlled extended wakefulness. The authors studied 9 morning-type and 9 evening-type healthy male subjects (21.4 ± 1.9 yrs). Before the experiment, all participants underwent a fixed sleep-wake schedule mimicking a regular working day (bedtime: 23:30 h; wake time: 07:30 h). Then, following two nights in the laboratory, both chronotypes underwent a 36-h constant routine, performing a cognitive test of sustained attention every hour. Core body temperature, salivary melatonin secretion, objective alertness (maintenance of wakefulness test), and subjective sleepiness (visual analog scale) were also assessed. Evening-types expressed a higher level of subjective sleepiness than morning types, whereas their objective levels of alertness were not different. Cognitive performance in the lapse domain remained stable during the normal waking day and then declined during the biological night, with a similar time course for both chronotypes. Evening types maintained optimal alertness (i.e., 10% fastest reaction time) throughout the night, whereas morning types did not. For both chronotypes, the circadian performance profile was correlated with the circadian subjective somnolence profile and was slightly phase-delayed with melatonin secretion. Circadian performance was less correlated with circadian core body temperature. Lapse domain was phase-delayed with body temperature (2–4 h), whereas optimal alertness was slightly phase-delayed with body temperature (1 h). These results indicate evening types living in a fixed sleep-wake schedule mimicking a regular working day (different from their preferred sleep schedules) express higher subjective sleepiness but can maintain the same level of objective alertness during a normal waking day as morning types. Furthermore, evening types were found to maintain optimal alertness throughout their nighttime, whereas morning types could not. The authors suggest that evening-type subjects have a higher voluntary engagement of wake-maintenance mechanisms during extended wakefulness due to adaptation of their sleep-wake schedule to social constraints. (Author correspondence: jack.taillard@gmail.com)

Circadian rhythm of wrist temperature in normal-living subjects: A candidate of new index of the circadian system

Most circadian rhythms are under the control of a major pacemaker located in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus. Some of these rhythms, called marker rhythms, serve to characterize the timing of the internal temporal order. A marker rhythm, (e.g., one used in chronotherapy) has to be periodic and easy to measure over long periods using non-invasive methods. The most frequent reference variables for human chronotherapy include salivary melatonin or cortisol, urinary 6-sulfatoximelatonin, actimetry and core body temperature (CBT). Recent evidence suggests that sleepiness may be more closely linked to increased peripheral skin temperature than to a core temperature drop, and that distal skin temperature seems to be correlated and phase-advanced with respect to CBT, suggesting that heat loss from the extremities may drive the circadian CBT rhythm. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the wrist skin temperature rhythm could be used as a possible index of the human circadian system. To this end, wrist skin temperature (WT1), as determined by a wireless data logger in healthy normal living subjects, was correlated with sleep-wake diaries and oral temperature (OT) recordings. WT and sleep habits were studied in 99 university students. Each subject wore a wireless iButton sensor attached to the inner side of a sport wristband. Our results show that the WT rhythm exhibits an inverse phase relationship with OT, and it is phase-advanced by 60 min with respect to OT. WT started to increase in association to bed time and dropped sharply after awakening. A secondary WT increase, independent of feeding, was observed in the early afternoon. In conclusion, WT wireless recording can be considered a reliable procedure to evaluate circadian rhythmicity, and an index to establish and follow the effects of chronotherapy in normal living subjects.

Time-restricted feeding entrains daily rhythms of energy metabolism in mice

Energy metabolism, oxygen consumption rate (VO2), and respiratory quotient (RQ) in mice were monitored continuously throughout 12:12-h light-dark cycles before, during, and after time-restricted feeding (RF). Mice fed ad libitum showed robust daily rhythms in both parameters: high during the dark phase and low during the light phase. The daily profile of energy metabolism in mice under daytime-only feeding was reversed at the beginning of the first fasting night. A few days after daytime-only feeding began, RF also reversed the circadian core body temperature rhythm. Moreover, RF for 6 consecutive days shifted the phases of circadian expression patterns of clock genes in liver significantly by 8-10 h. When mice were fed a high-fat (HF) diet ad libitum, the daily rhythm of RQ dampened day by day and disappeared on the sixth day of RF, whereas VO2 showed a robust daily rhythm. Mice fed HF only in the daytime had reversed VO2 and RQ rhythms. Similarly, mice fed HF only in the daytime significantly phase shifted the clock gene expression in liver, whereas ad libitum feeding with HF had no significant effect on the expression phases of liver clock genes. These results suggested that VO2 is a sensitive indicator of entrainment in the mouse liver. Moreover, physiologically, it can be determined without any surgery or constraint. On the basis of these results, we hypothesize that a change in the daily VO2 rhythm, independent of the energy source, might drive phase shifts of circadian oscillators in peripheral tissues, at least in the liver.

Prolonged Mild Hypoxia Modifies Human Circadian Core Body Temperature and may be Associated with Sleep Disturbances

Fatigue is often reported after long-haul airplane flights. Hypobaric hypoxia, observed in pressurized cabins, may play a role in this phenomenon by altering circadian rhythms. In a controlled cross-over study, we assessed the effects of two levels of hypoxia, corresponding to cabin altitudes of 8000 and 12,000 ft, on the rhythm of core body temperature (CBT), a marker of circadian rhythmicity, and on subjective sleep. Twenty healthy young male volunteers were exposed for 8 h (08:00–16:00 h) in a hypobaric chamber to a cabin altitude of 8000 ft and, 4 weeks later, 12,000 ft. Each subject served as his own control. For each exposure, CBT was recorded by telemetry for two 24 h cycles (control and hypoxic exposure). After filtering out nonphysiological values, the individual CBT data were fitted with a five-order moving average before statistical group analysis. Sleep latency, sleep time, and sleep efficiency were studied by sleep logs completed every day in the morning. Our results show that the CBT rhythm expression was altered, mainly at 12,000 ft, with a significant increase of amplitude and a delay in the evening decline in CBT, associated with alterations of sleep latency. Mild hypoxia may therefore alter circadian structure and result in sleep disturbances. These results may explain in part the frequent complaints of prolonged post-flight fatigue after long flights, even when no time zones are crossed.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Abnormal Biological Rhythms in School Children

ABSTRACTChronic fatigue syndrome occurring in previously healthy children and adolescents is one of the most vexing problems encountered by pediatric practitioners. To investigate the biological rhythms in the pediatric patients with CFS, we examined sleep pattern, circadian rhythm of core body temperature (CBT), and plasma cortisol in 41 patients, aged between 10 and 19 years, who did not have any physical or psychiatric disorders, but had non-specific complaints, and were suspected to have a circadian rhythm disturbance. They were diagnosed as having CFS on the basis of published criteria. Circadian variation of CBT in the CFS patients did not present a clear rhythm, and appearance time of their lowest CBT was significantly delayed compared to healthy subjects. Amplitude of circadian CBT changes, fitted to a cosinor curve by the least square method, was significantly smaller in the patients than in healthy subjects. Moreover, circadian rhythm of plasma cortisol in the patients appeared to be quite diffe...

Disturbed circadian core body temperature rhythm and sleep disturbance in school refusal children and adolescents

We examined the circadian rhythm of core body temperature (CBT) in 22 school refusal patients, ages between 12 and 18 years, who did not have any physical or psychiatric disorders, but had indefinite complaints, and were suspected to have a circadian rhythm disturbance. To obtain normal data for analysis, CBT in 9 healthy age-matched school attendants who did not have any sleep, psychiatric, or medical disturbance were monitored. Circadian variation of CBT in school refusal patients did not present a clear rhythm, and appearance time of their lowest CBT was markedly delayed compared to healthy subjects. Amplitude of circadian CBT changes, fitted to a cosinor curve by the least square method, was significantly smaller in school refusals than in healthy subjects. These findings suggest that in school refusal patients who do not have physical and psychiatric disorders, clinical psychosomatic symptoms (e.g., fatigue and memory disturbance) and school refusal could be closely related to the desynchronization of their biorhythms, particularly the circadian rhythm of body temperature and sleep-wake rhythm.