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An attempt to correlate brain areas containing melatonin-binding sites with rhythmic functions: a study in five hibernator species

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Abstract

High affinity melatonin-binding sites have been described, by means of autoradiography with 2-125I-melatonin as the ligand, in more than 60 brain areas of about 20 mammalian species, with dramatic variations in the nature and number of labelled structures among the different species studied. As melatonin is involved in the synchronization of biological rhythms, we have tried to correlate the brain areas containing melatonin-binding sites with some rhythmic functions typical of give species. Therefore, we have studied the location of melatonin-binding sites in the complete brain of five long-day breeders with hibernation cycles, viz. one insectivore and four rodents. With the exception of the suprachiasmatic nuclei and the pars tuberalis of the pituitary, both of which contain binding sites in all five species, few reactive structures are common, even among species from the same family, e.g. the edible dormouse and the garden dormouse.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Neurobiologie des Fonctions Rythmiques et Saisonnières, URA-CNRS 1332, Université L. Pasteur, F-67000, Strasbourg, France

    M. Masson-Pévet, D. George, M. Saboureau, N. Lakhadar-Ghazal & P. Pévet

  2. Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    A. Kalsbeek

  3. Unité de Neurosciences, Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco

    N. Lakhadar-Ghazal

Authors
  1. M. Masson-Pévet
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  2. D. George
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  3. A. Kalsbeek
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  4. M. Saboureau
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  5. N. Lakhadar-Ghazal
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  6. P. Pévet
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Masson-Pévet, M., George, D., Kalsbeek, A. et al. An attempt to correlate brain areas containing melatonin-binding sites with rhythmic functions: a study in five hibernator species. Cell Tissue Res 278, 97–106 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00305781

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00305781

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