Zeitgeber
2525075
210115689
2008-05-04T15:14:17Z
Hordaland
4755260
/* See also */ See also Ultradian, as "Ultradian rhythm" is a red link.
'''Zeitgeber''' (from [[German language|German]] for "time giver", synchronizer) is any external (exogenous) cue that [[Entrainment (chronobiology)|entrains]] the internal (endogenous) time-keeping system of organisms. The strongest zeitgeber, for both plants and animals, is light. Other, non-photic, zeitgebers include temperature, social interactions, pharmacological manipulation and eating/drinking patterns.
The German term „Zeitgeber“ came into the [[English language]] when [[Jürgen Aschoff]], one of the founders of the field of [[chronobiology]], used it in the 1960s. It is now in common use in the scientific literature in this field.
== See also ==
*[[Phase response curve]]
*[[Circadian rhythm]]
*[[Infradian rhythm]]
*[[Ultradian]]
*[[Melatonin]]
*[[Suprachiasmatic nucleus]] or nuclei (SCN)
== Literature ==
* Aschoff J (1965) The phase-angle difference in circadian periodicity.In "Circadian Clocks" (J. Aschoff, ed.). North Holland Press, Amsterdam, p 262–278.
[[Category:German loanwords]]
[[Category:Circadian rhythms]]
[[Category:Sleep physiology]]
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