Effects of environmental temperature changes on circadian rhythms

Abstract

Most living beings face daily and seasonal changes in the environmental temperature, which affect physiological and biochemical processes. This review will cover some effects of these temperature changes upon circadian rhythms of different species. First, it will be discussed how the circadian oscillator, which generates these rhythms, maintains a stable period even at different temperatures. Then, some cases will be presented in which the temporal information of the daily temperature cycle is processed by the oscillator, suggesting the importance of this cycle as an environmental clue to the synchronization of circadian rhythms. Finally, the plasticity of rhythmic expression will be explored with examples in which modulation of the circadian rhythm by environmental temperature occurs without the oscillator being directly affected