TY - CHAP
T1 - The potential evolutionary significance of the pineal gland
AU - Agutter, Paul S.
AU - Tubbs, R. Shane
AU - Loukas, Marios
AU - Farhoudi, Mehdi
AU - Ghaffari, Alireza
AU - Mortazavi, Martin M.
AU - Ghabili, Kamyar
AU - Mohajel Shoja, Mohammadali
PY - 2013/12/1
Y1 - 2013/12/1
N2 - Although during the early 20th century the pineal gland was considered to have littlefunctional significance, the activity of its secretory product, melatonin, has beenincreasingly appreciated during recent decades. Melatonin has a role in the sleep-wakecycle and recent studies have shown that it acutely enhances mating behaviour and libido.Since reproductive activity is obviously of primary importance for the survival of species, this could plausibly suggest a circadian control of mating behaviour. In this chapter, weargue that the coupling of mating behaviour to light-dark shifts by melatonin might haveinfluenced the survival of species, and this could throw fresh light on the evolutionarysignificance of the pineal gland.
AB - Although during the early 20th century the pineal gland was considered to have littlefunctional significance, the activity of its secretory product, melatonin, has beenincreasingly appreciated during recent decades. Melatonin has a role in the sleep-wakecycle and recent studies have shown that it acutely enhances mating behaviour and libido.Since reproductive activity is obviously of primary importance for the survival of species, this could plausibly suggest a circadian control of mating behaviour. In this chapter, weargue that the coupling of mating behaviour to light-dark shifts by melatonin might haveinfluenced the survival of species, and this could throw fresh light on the evolutionarysignificance of the pineal gland.
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M3 - Chapter
AN - SCOPUS:84895229509
SN - 9781622572762
SP - 217
EP - 226
BT - Hypotheses in Clinical Medicine
PB - Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
ER -