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Melatonin and its Effects in Fishes: An Overview

  • Chapter
Rhythms in Fishes

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((NSSA,volume 236))

Abstract

The pineal gland is an universal feature of all vertebrates and was documented first by Galen (130–200 AD). It has been a subject of interest and speculation for more than 2000 years, since Greek anatomists observed that the pineal gland is an unpaired structure in the brain. The French philosopher Descartes proposed an important role for this organ in brain function and regarded it as the “right hand” of the soul (after Zrenner, 1985). At the beginning of the 20th century, first experiments indicated that the pineal organ is involved in the regulation of reproduction and skin pigmentation in lower vertebrates and responds to light stimuli. In 1958, Lerner and his coworkers were able to isolate melatonin from bovine pineals, initiating the modern era of pineal research (Lerner et al., 1958). The pineal organ is now considered as a component of the circadian system in vertebrates, and is thought to be involved in the timing and control of rhythmic functions and behaviours (Hastings et al., 1989). This seems to be related to the ability of the pineal organ to transform environmental stimuli, mainly photoperiodic information, into nervous and hormonal signals. Among the hormonal signals, the indoleamide melatonin is considered to be an internal “Zeitgeber” in vertebrates (Armstrong, 1989; Falcón and Collin, 1989; Underwood, 1989).

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  1. Département de Biologie, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. A, Montréal, P.Q., H3C 3J7, Canada

    Andreas Zachmann & M. Ather Ali

  2. Laboratoire de Biologie Cellulaire, Université Poitiers URA CNRS 290, 40 ave du Recteur Pineau, 86022, Poitiers, Cedex, France

    Jacky Falcón

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    M. A. Ali

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Zachmann, A., Ali, M.A., Falcón, J. (1992). Melatonin and its Effects in Fishes: An Overview. In: Ali, M.A. (eds) Rhythms in Fishes. NATO ASI Series, vol 236. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3042-8_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3042-8_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6326-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-3042-8

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