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Problems in Interpreting the Effects of Drugs on Circadian Rhythms

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Physiology and Pharmacology of Biological Rhythms

Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 125))

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to provide a guide to some of the questions that might be raised when a drug is found to have effects on the temporal profile of variables. It discusses possible explanations, especially those involving the newly discovered major influence that behaviour can have on rhythms. Some people, of course, will be more concerned with learning whether or not a drug produces a desired temporal effect; discussion about whether the effect represents masking or entrainment, or whether an agent is a true zeitgeber or not, may seem academic. It is no more so than knowing whether an agent is an agonist or a partial agonist. In the long run medicine can be improved if the complexities of the circadian system are taken into account, and if the mode and site of the actions of chronobiotic drugs are understood.

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Authors
  1. N. Mrosovsky
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, BA1 7AY, Bath, UK

    Peter H. Redfern BPharm, PhD

  2. Instituts für Pharmakologie und Toxikologie Fakultät für klinische Medizin Mannheim, Universität Heidelberg, Maybachstr. 14-16, 68169, Mannheim, Germany

    B. Lemmer (Direktor) (Direktor)

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© 1997 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Mrosovsky, N. (1997). Problems in Interpreting the Effects of Drugs on Circadian Rhythms. In: Redfern, P.H., Lemmer, B. (eds) Physiology and Pharmacology of Biological Rhythms. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 125. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-09355-9_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-09355-9_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08265-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-09355-9

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