INTERNAL DESYNCHRONIZATION OF THE CIRCADIAN ACTIVITY AND FEEDING RHYTHM IN AN OWL MONKEY (AOTUS LEMURINUS GRISEIMEMBRA): A CASE STUDY

• Published in: Chronobiology international 2000-01, Vol.17 (2), p.147-153
• Main Author: Erkert, Hans G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Aotidae - physiology; Aotus; Aotus lemurinus griseimembra; Biological and medical sciences; Chronobiology; Circadian rhythm; Circadian Rhythm - physiology; Drinking Behavior - physiology; Feeding activity; Feeding Behavior - psychology; Food-entrainable oscillator; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Internal desynchronization; Light; Locomotor activity; Male; Motor Activity - physiology; Nonhuman primates; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
• ISSN: 0742-0528; 1525-6073
• DOI: 10.1081/CBI-100101039

In the free-running circadian locomotor activity rhythm of a 7-year-old male owl monkey (Aotus lemurinus griseimembra) kept under constant light and climatic conditions (LL 0.2 lux, 25°C ± 1°C, 60 ± 5% relative humidity [RH]), a second rhythm component developed that showed strong relative coordination with the free-running activity rhythm of 24.4h and a 24h rhythm. The simultaneously recorded feeding activity rhythm strongly resembled this rhythm component. Therefore, it seems justified to infer that there was an internal desynchronization between the two behavioral rhythms or their circadian pacemakers, that is, between the light-entrainable oscillator located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) and a food-entrainable oscillator located outside the SCN. This internal desynchronization may have been induced and or maintained by a zeitgeber effect of the (irregular) 24h feeding schedule on the food-entrainable oscillator. The weak relative coordination shown by the activity rhythm indicates a much weaker coupling of the light-entrainable oscillator to the food-entrainable oscillator than vice versa. (Chronobiology International, 17(2), 147-153, 2000)