Biomaterial Database

Pineal gland influences period of circannual rhythms of ground squirrels. 1985

I Zucker

Female golden-mantled ground squirrels were pinealectomized (Pinx) or Sham-Pinx at 70 days of age and maintained for more than 2 yr at 23 degrees C in a 10:14 light-dark photoperiod. Reproductive condition and body weight were recorded weekly and bi-weekly, respectively. Pinx and Sham-Pinx squirrels displayed circannual rhythms in body weight; the groups did not differ with respect to absolute magnitudes of annual peaks and troughs in body mass. The period of the circannual body weight cycle (measured peak to peak) was 27 and 58 days shorter in Pinx than in Sham-Pinx squirrels during the 1st and 2nd yr, respectively, after surgery. The onset of estrus during the second postoperative cycle occurred significantly earlier in Pinx than in Sham-Pinx squirrels. The pineal gland is not essential for the generation or expression of circannual or circadian cycles but may affect the period of some circannual rhythms.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010870	Pineal Gland	A light-sensitive neuroendocrine organ attached to the roof of the THIRD VENTRICLE of the brain. The pineal gland secretes MELATONIN, other BIOGENIC AMINES and NEUROPEPTIDES.	Epiphysis Cerebri,Pineal Body,Corpus Pineale,Gland, Pineal,Pineal Bodies,Pineal Glands
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D001835	Body Weight	The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.	Body Weights,Weight, Body,Weights, Body
D002940	Circadian Rhythm	The regular recurrence, in cycles of about 24 hours, of biological processes or activities, such as sensitivity to drugs or environmental and physiological stimuli.	Diurnal Rhythm,Nyctohemeral Rhythm,Twenty-Four Hour Rhythm,Nycthemeral Rhythm,Circadian Rhythms,Diurnal Rhythms,Nycthemeral Rhythms,Nyctohemeral Rhythms,Rhythm, Circadian,Rhythm, Diurnal,Rhythm, Nycthemeral,Rhythm, Nyctohemeral,Rhythm, Twenty-Four Hour,Rhythms, Circadian,Rhythms, Diurnal,Rhythms, Nycthemeral,Rhythms, Nyctohemeral,Rhythms, Twenty-Four Hour,Twenty Four Hour Rhythm,Twenty-Four Hour Rhythms
D004971	Estrus	The period in the ESTROUS CYCLE associated with maximum sexual receptivity and fertility in non-primate female mammals.
D005260	Female		Females
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D012589	Sciuridae	A family of the order Rodentia which contains 49 genera. Some of the more common genera are MARMOTA, which includes the marmot and woodchuck; Sciurus, the gray squirrel, S. carolinensis, and the fox squirrel, S. niger; Tamias, the eastern and western chipmunk; and Tamiasciurus, the red squirrel. The flying squirrels, except the scaly-tailed Anomaluridae, also belong to this family.	Chipmunks,Citellus,Eutamias,Prairie Dogs,Spermophilus,Squirrels,Susliks,Tamias,Chipmunk,Dog, Prairie,Dogs, Prairie,Prairie Dog,Squirrel,Suslik