Affiliations: Neuroscience Program, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA
Note: [] Correspondence to: Mary E. Harrington, Neuroscience Program, Smith College, Northampton, MA 01063, USA. Tel.: +1 413 585 3925; Fax: +1 413 585 3786; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Circadian rhythms are prominent in the regulation of many physiological processes crucial to health. In mammals the suprachiasmatic nucleus acts as the master circadian pacemaker, responsible for coordinating circadian oscillations throughout the body. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the master circadian pacemaker and discuss how the outputs from this oscillator coordinate rhythmicity in several key systems including the endocrine, immune and central nervous system. We present several studies of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and demonstrate declines in diurnal amplitude, with little evidence to suggest disrupted phase of rhythmicity. It is possible that disruptions in central circadian output may contribute to the progression and maintenance of chronic fatigue syndrome in a subset of the population.
