Time-of-day as a critical biological variable

NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS

卷:127

Article

Nelson, Randy J.^1,4  Bumgarner, Jacob R.¹  Walker, William H., II^1,4  DeVries, A. Courtney^1,2,3,4 

[1] Rockefeller Neurosci Inst, Dept Neurosci, Morgantown, WV 26506 USA

[2] Dept Med, Div Hematol & Oncol, Morgantown, WV 26506 USA

[3] WVU Canc Inst, Morgantown, WV 26506 USA

[4] West Virginia Univ, West Virginia Clin & Translat Sci Inst, Morgantown, WV 26506 USA

关键词: Circadian rhythms;    Diel;    Learning;    Memory;    Attention;    Food intake;    Mating behavior;    Aggression;    Drug seeking behaviors;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.017

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Time-of-day is a crucial, yet often overlooked, biological variable in biomedical research. We examined the top 25 most cited papers in several domains of behavioral neuroscience to determine whether time-of-day information was reported. The majority of studies report behavioral testing conducted during the day, which does not coincide with the optimal time to perform the testing from an functional perspective of the animals being tested. The majority of animal models used in biomedical research are nocturnal rodents; thus, testing during the light phase (i.e. animals' rest period) may alter the results and introduce variability across studies. Time-of-day is rarely considered in analyses or reported in publications; the majority of publications fail to include temporal details when describing their experimental methods, and those few that report testing during the dark rarely report whether measures are in place to protect from exposure to extraneous light. We propose that failing to account for time-of-day may compromise replication of findings across behavioral studies and reduce their value when extrapolating results to diurnal humans.

【 授权许可】

Free