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Adaptive cycles: Their significance for defining environmental hazards

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Abstract

Among the great variety of biological rhythms with frequencies from less than 1/msec up to 1/several years,there are four rhythms which represent adaptations to time structures of the environment. These are the tidal, the diurnal, the lunar, and the seasonal rhythms. Using the diurnal or "circadian" rhythm as the most extensively studied example, the paper describes: (a) the properties of biological, self-sustained oscillators under constant conditions as well as under the influence of a synchronizing environmental rhythm; (b) the multiplicity of rhythmic functions in an organism, especially those of sensitivity to external stimuli, and (c) cases of internal desynchronization in man. After a brief outlook to rhythms with lower frequencies (weekly and seasonal rhythms), the final discussion deals with the problem of defining environmental hazards with regard to temporal organization in the environment as well as in the organism.

Zusammenfassung

Unter der grossen Zahl biologischer Rhythmen mit Frequenzen von weniger als 1/msec bis zu 1/mehrere Jahre verkörpern vier Rhythmen Anpassungen an Zeitstrukturen der Umwelt. Es sind dies die Gezeiten-, Tages-, Mond- und Jahresrhythmen. Am Beispiel der tages-periodischen oder "circadianen" Prozesse, die bislang am genauesten untersucht sind, beschreibt die Arbeit: (a)die Eigenschaftenbiologischer, selbsterregter Oscillatoren unter konstanten Bedingungen wie auch unter dem Einfluss synchronisierender Umwelt-Rhythmen; (b)die Vielfalt rhythmischer Funktionen im Organismus, insbesondere solcher der Empfindlichkeit gegen Aussenreize, und (c) Fälle interner Desynchronization beim Menschen. Nach kurzem Ausblick auf Rhythmen mit niedrigerer Frequenz (Wochen- und Jahreszeitenrhythmen), wird abschliessend die Frage erörtert,wie im Hinblick auf die zeitliche Ordnung des Organismus gefährliche Umweltbedingungen definiert werden können.

Resume

Parmi le grand nombre de rythmes biologiques dont la fréquence varie entre la milliseconde et plusieurs années, il en est quatre qui représentent une adaptation aux structures de temps du milieu ambiant. Il s'agit des rythmes de marées,diurnes ou "circadiens", lunaires et annuels. Comme exemple des rythmes "circadiens"les mieux étudiés jusqu'ici, le présent mémoire cite: (a) les propriétés des oscillateurs biologiques s'excitant eux-mêmes aussi bien en milieu constant que sous l'influence d'un rythme ambiant de synchronisation; (b)la multitude des fonctions rythmiques d'un organisme, plus spécialement celles qui réagissent à des stimulants extérieurs et (c) les cas de désychronisation interne chez l'homme. Après une brève revue des rythmes de fréquence inférieure (semaine ou saison), l'auteur traite,pour terminer, le problème de la définition des conditions ambiantes dagereuses afin d'obtenir une meilleure succession des répercussions du milieu sur l'organisme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Verhaltensphysiologie, 8131, Erling-Andechs, Germany

    J. Aschoff

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  1. J. Aschoff
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This article is adapted from a paper read at the NAS-NRC Symposium on Physiological Characterization of Health Hazards in Man's Environment,Bretton-Woods 1966. The human bunker-experiments reported herein have been supported by NASA Research Grant NsG-259-62, some of the bird experiments by the United States Air Force under Grant AF EOAR 66-15 through the European Office of Aerospace Research.

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Aschoff, J. Adaptive cycles: Their significance for defining environmental hazards. Int J Biometeorol 11, 255–278 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01426649

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