Circadian Timing: From Genetics to Behavior

Abstract

In order to adapt to a changing environment, most living organisms have established the ability to measure time by the development of biological timing systems. There are different time-scales in which these temporal systems operate, thus covering more than 12 orders of magnitude, from microseconds to days or even seasons. All of these biological ‘clocks’ use time-keeping mechanisms that provide organisms with temporal information crucial to fulfill the required biological processes (Buhusi & Meck, 2005; Golombek, Bussi, & Agostino, 2014). Most chapters in this book are focused on temporal processing in the millisecond-to-minutes range, which is crucial to many forms of cognitive processing. In the present chapter, we will cover different aspects of biological timing in the circadian (i.e., ‘about a day’, 24-h) range. Since circadian timing is ubiquitous and regulates many physiological and behavioral functions – including cognitive functions – the study of circadian rhythms has a deep impact in neuroscience, medicine and health research...