La desincronización interna como promotora de enfermedad y problemas de conducta / Internal desynchrony as promotor of disease and behavioral disturbance
Salud ment
; Salud ment;32(1): 69-76, Jan.-Feb. 2009. ilus, tab
Article
em Es
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LILACS-Express
| LILACS
| ID: lil-632691
Biblioteca responsável:
MX1.1
ABSTRACT
Life on our planet is ruled by a temporary structure that governs our activities, our days and our calendars. In order to cope with a daily changing environment, organisms have developed adaptive strategies by exhibiting daily behavioral and physiological changes. Biological rhythms are properties conserved in all the levels of organization, from unicellular to prokaryotes to upper plants and mammals. A biological rhythm is defined as the recurrence of a biological phenomenon in regular intervals of time. Biological rhythms in behaviour and physiology are controled by an internal clock which synchronizes its oscillations to external time cues that have the capacity to adjust the clock's mechanism and keep it coupled to external fluctuations. The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus in mammals is the master circadian clock which is mainly entrained by the light-dark cycle. The SCN transmits time signals to the brain and then to the whole body and by means of its time signals the SCN keeps a temporal order in diverse oscillations of the body and adjusted to the light-dark cycle. The correct temporal order enables an individual to adequate functioning in harmony with the external cycles. Biological rhythms have a hereditary character, thus its expression is genetically determined. All animals, plants, and probably all organism show some type of physiological rhythmic variation (metabolic rate, production of heat, flowering, etc.) that allow for the adaptation to a rhythmic environment. Biological rhythms enable individuals to anticipate and to be prepared to the demands of the prominent cyclic environmental changes, which are necessary for survival. Also, biological rhythms promote showing maximum levels of a physiological variable at the right moment when the environment requires a maximal response. In humans, an example of circadian rhythms is the sleep-wake cycle; simultaneously, a series of physiological changes are exhibited, also with circadian characteristics (close to 24 hours). Circadian oscillations are observed in the liberation of luteinizant hormone, in plasma cortisol, leptin, insulin, glucose and growth hormone just to mentions some examples. The SCN controls circadian rhythmicity via projections to the autonomic system and by controlling the hypothalamus-adenohipofisis-adrenal axis. In this way, the SCN transmits phase and period to the peripheral oscillators to maintain an internal synchrony. Modern life favors situations that oppose the time signals in the environment and promote conflicting signals to the SCN and its effectors. The consequence is that circadian oscillators uncouple from the master clock and from the external cycles leading to oscillations out of synchrony with the environment, which is known as internal desynchronization. The consequence is that physiological variables reach their peak expression at wrong moments according to environmental demands leading then to deficient responses and to disease in the long run. Also, levels of attention, learning and memory reach peak expression at wrong moments of the day leading individuals to exhibit a deficient performance at school or work. The disturbed sleep patterns promote fatigue and irritability, which difficult social interaction. Internal desynchronization results from transmeridional traveling for which people pass multiple hourly regions. This results in an abrupt change in the time schedule and a syndrome known as <<jet lag>>. Frequent travelers complain about difficulties to adjust their sleep-wake cycle to the new schedule, thus resulting in fatigue, increased sleepiness and reduced attention. Jet lag results from a loss of synchrony among biological rhythms and among diverse functions, which remain out of phase with the day-night cycle. This <RESUMEN
La vida se rige por una estructura temporal que gobierna nuestras horas, nuestros días y nuestros calendarios. Como parte de la adaptación a los ciclos de tiempo que impone el planeta, todo organismo presenta ritmos en su actividad y fisiología. Los ritmos biológicos son una propiedad conservada en todos los niveles de organización, desde organismos unicelulares procariontes hasta plantas superiores y mamíferos. De ellos, los más sólidos son aquellos asociados a los ciclos externos por la alternancia del día y la noche y por la alternancia de las estaciones del año. Los ritmos biológicos fisiológicos y conductuales son procesos dependientes de un reloj interno capaz de ajustar sus oscilaciones a claves de tiempo externas que lo mantienen sincronizado a estas fluctuaciones externas. El núcleo supraquiasmático del hipotálamo (NSQ) es en los mamíferos el principal reloj circadiano y se sincroniza principalmente por el ciclo luz-oscuridad. El NSQ transmite señales de tiempo al cerebro y de ahí al resto del organismo, y por medio de estas señales de tiempo mantiene un orden temporal en diversas funciones del cuerpo y las mantiene ajustadas al ciclo luz-oscuridad. El correcto orden temporal interno permite un adecuado funcionamiento del individuo en armonía con el medio externo y le permite exhibir respuestas adecuadas a un ambiente cambiante y predecible. El estilo de vida del hombre moderno propicia situaciones que llevan a alteraciones de nuestros ritmos biológicos que causan una desadaptación temporal, que a su vez redunda en daños a la salud, ya que afecta tanto la fisiología como la forma en que organizamos nuestra conducta. Un ejemplo de ello son los viajes a través de múltiples regiones horarias. Estos cambios de horario bruscos provocan un síndrome conocido como jet-lag, que consiste en un conflicto transitorio entre el tiempo <
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
LILACS
Aspecto:
Patient_preference
Idioma:
Es
Revista:
Salud ment
Assunto da revista:
PSIQUIATRIA
Ano de publicação:
2009
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
México
País de publicação:
México