ReviewExperientia1993
The melatonin rhythm: both a clock and a calendar.
Review in Experientia, 1993. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 191 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
191 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 993 citations in OpenAlex.
- Research Hot Spots and Trends on Melatonin From 2000 to 2019.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Pooled it
- Melatonin, Caffeine, or Their Combination: Effects on Sleep, Performance, Perceived Exertion in a Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study.Nutrients · 2026Trial
- Effects of resistance exercise session after oral ingestion of melatonin on physiological and performance responses of adult men.European journal of applied physiology · 2006Trial
- Resurrection biology: Melatonin as a modulator of anastasis (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Review
- Review
- The phenology of the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) and its environmental drivers.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Melatonin Targets Mitochondrial Redox Homeostasis: Optimizing the Intracellular Microenvironment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Immunohistochemical expression of pancreatic melatonin receptor (MTNR1B) under experimental sleep disturbance in rats.Journal of molecular histology · 2026Article
- Melatonin promotes embryonic development by enhancing tryptophan metabolism and NAD + synthesis.BMC biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Loss of melatonin signaling increases the risk of T2DM caused by metabolic disorders.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2025Article
- Disrupted darkness: the impact of anthropogenic light at night on melatonin secretion of Hermodice carunculata (Polychaeta, Annelida).Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2025Article
- Exploring melatonin's multifaceted role in female reproductive health: From follicular development to lactation and its therapeutic potential in obstetric syndromes.Journal of advanced research · 2025Review
- Melatonin affects trophoblast epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and oxidative damage resistance by modulating GDF15 expression to promote embryo implantation.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Intrinsically synthesized melatonin in mitochondria and factors controlling its production.Histology and histopathology · 2025Review
- Melatonin in Male Dromedary Camel (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Regulation of Plant Growth and Development by Melatonin.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Melatonin Regulates the Expression of VEGF and HOXA10 in Bovine Endometrial Epithelial Cells through the SIRT1/PI3K/AKT Pathway.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Melatonin as an Ameliorative Agent Against Cadmium- and Lead-Induced Toxicity in Fish: an Overview.Applied biochemistry and biotechnology · 2024Review
- Recent Progress in Biosensors for Depression Monitoring-Advancing Personalized Treatment.Biosensors · 2024Review
131 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The paper briefly reviews the data which shows that the circadian production and secretion of melatonin by the pineal gland can impart both daily, i.e., clock, and seasonal, i.e., calendar, information to the organism. The paper summarizes the 3 patterns of nocturnal melatonin production that have been described. Clearly, regardless of the pattern of nocturnal melatonin production a particular species normally displays, the duration of nightime elevated melatonin is proportional to the duration of the night length. Since daylength under natural conditions changes daily the melatonin rhythm, which adjusts to the photoperiod sends time of year information to the organism. The melatonin receptors which subserve the clock message sent by the pineal gland in the form of a melatonin cycle may reside in the biological clock itself, namely, the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). The melatonin receptors that mediate seasonal changes in reproductive physiology are presumably those that are located on the pars tuberalis cells of the anterior pituitary gland. Besides these receptors which likely mediate clock and calendar information, melatonin receptors have been described in other organs. Interestingly, the distribution of melatonin receptors is highly species-specific. Whereas the clock and calendar information that the melatonin cycle imparts to the organism relies on cell membrane receptors, a fact that is of some interest considering the high lipophilicity of melatonin, recent studies indicate that other functions of melatonin may require no receptor whatsoever.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.