Although in the past the Swedish anatomical schools gave one of the first impulses to the study of biorhythms, this subject has never been a favourite matter of mor phological investigations. The proposal of the organizing committee at the 8th Inter national Anatomical Congress to organize a symposium on rhythmic research was willingly accepted. It was felt that as morphology is growing to be more and more an experimental discipline, biorhythms should be considered. It is gratefully acknowledged that investigators with great experience in biologic rhythms were prepared to take part in this symposium. Their different fields of research, physiology, biology, embryology and clinical, indicate the importance of rhythmic variations and mathematicians show how results gained have to be treated in a correct statistical fashion. There are the processes of cell multiplication, regeneration and growth, which have been proved to be rhythmic. The analyses of mitoses show to what extent such strong interventions as adrenalectomy, hypophysectomy etc. have been misinterpreted and delivered severally contradictory results when the rhythmic variations are not considered. The observation of tissues collected throughout 24 hours contributes to the much debated problem of "Amitosis" and also revealed a definite rhythm of DNA. In connection with this is the uptake and incorporation of DNA-precursors which occur rhythmically. In the vast number of precursor experiments which frequently vary strongly in their results, circadian changes have hardly been considered until now.

During the past decade many review papers and books have been devoted to descriptions and analyses of biological rhythms (chronobiology) in plants and animals. These contributed greatly to demonstrating the impor tance of bioperiodicities in living beings in general. However, the practi cal aspects of chronobiology with regard to human health and improving the treatment of disease have not yet been a major focus of publication. One of our aims is to establish the relevance of biological rhythms to the practice of medicine. Another is to organize and convey in a simple fashion information pertinent to health- and life-science professionals so that students, researchers, and practitioners can achieve a clear and pre cise understanding of chronobiology. We have limited scientific jargon to unavoidable basic and well-defined terms and we have emphasized illus trative examples of facts and concepts rather than theories or hypotheti cal mechanisms. This volume is divided into seven chapters, each of which is compre hensive in its treatment and includes an extensive bibliography. The book is organized to serve as a textbook and/or reference handbook of modem applied chronobiology. Chapter 1 describes the historical development of chronobiology and reviews why, when, and how major concepts were introduced, accepted, and transformed.

An introduction to the mathematical, computational, and analytical techniques used for modeling biological rhythms, presenting tools from many disciplines and example applications. All areas of biology and medicine contain rhythms, and these behaviors are best understood through mathematical tools and techniques. This book offers a survey of mathematical, computational, and analytical techniques used for modeling biological rhythms, gathering these methods for the first time in one volume. Drawing on material from such disciplines as mathematical biology, nonlinear dynamics, physics, statistics, and engineering, it presents practical advice and techniques for studying biological rhythms, with a common language. The chapters proceed with increasing mathematical abstraction. Part I, on models, highlights the implicit assumptions and common pitfalls of modeling, and is accessible to readers with basic knowledge of differential equations and linear algebra. Part II, on behaviors, focuses on simpler models, describing common properties of biological rhythms that range from the firing properties of squid giant axon to human circadian rhythms. Part III, on mathematical techniques, guides readers who have specific models or goals in mind. Sections on “frontiers” present the latest research; “theory” sections present interesting mathematical results using more accessible approaches than can be found elsewhere. Each chapter offers exercises. Commented MATLAB code is provided to help readers get practical experience. The book, by an expert in the field, can be used as a textbook for undergraduate courses in mathematical biology or graduate courses in modeling biological rhythms and as a reference for researchers.

Periodical and predictable changes in biological susceptibility and response to a large variety of chemical agents, including drugs and food, have been documented since the early 1970s. This book provides a survey of clinically-documented research in chronopharmacology.

Circadian clocks are endogenous and temperature-compensating timekeepers that provide temporal organization of biological processes in living organisms. Circadian rhythms allow living organisms to adapt to the daily light cycles associated with Earth's rotation and to anticipate and prepare for precise and regular environmental changes. This book discusses the fundamental advances of how the circadian clock regulates critical biological functions as well as the cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling circadian rhythm in living organisms. It also provides new insights into and sheds new light on the current research trends and future research directions related to circadian rhythm. This book provokes interest in many readers, researchers and scientists, who can find this information useful for the advancement of their research works towards a better understanding of circadian rhythm regulatory mechanisms.