Melatonin Rhythm Onset in the Adult Siberian Hamster: Influence of Photoperiod But Not 60-Hz Magnetic Field Exposure on Melatonin Content in the Pineal Gland and in Circulation

To determine the relationship between pineal melatonin production and its appearance in circulation, the rising phase of the pineal and serum melatonin rhythm was studied in the adult Siberian hamster. Melatonin concentrations increased in the pineal gland and in serum at 1.50 and 1.75 h, respectively, relative to lights off in long days (16 h of light/day) and at 2.00 and 2.75 h, respectively, in short days (10 h of light/day). Thus, a photoperiod-dependent melatonin rise in circulation lagged production by the pineal gland by 0.50 h—a delay of 0.75 h in short-day hamsters versus 0.25 h in long-day hamsters. Following initiation of this rise, concentrations that were typical of the nighttime peak were achieved within 2 h of melatonin rhythm onset, regardless of photoperiod. To determine whether clock control of the rising phase of the melatonin rhythm, in the absence of photoperiod cues, may be disrupted by perturbations in the ambient magnetic field, hamsters in constant darkness were acutely exposed to a 1-Gauss, 60-Hz magnetic field for 15 min or were daily exposed to this treatment for 14 or 21 days. Neither the melatonin rise in pineal content or circulation during subjective night was affected by acute or chronic magnetic field exposures; testes regression similarly occurred in sham and daily magnetic field-exposed hamsters in constant darkness. These findings indicate that magnetic field exposures are unlikely to serve as a zeitgeber for the circadian mechanism that controls onset of the melatonin rhythm; rather, photoperiod is a predominant cue that may differentially regulate the rising phase of melatonin production in the pineal gland and concentration in circulation.