Physiologic and Health Consequences of Circadian Disruption (in Animal Models)

The circadian clock has evolved over millions of years to optimize the coordination of the organism with its environment and to maintain internal coordination among multiple physiologic and molecular processes. Tremendous progress has been made in elucidating the molecular mechanisms that underlie circadian function and in detecting cell-autonomous, self-sustaining circadian clocks in tissues/organs throughout the body. The circadian research field is now in a position to move these discoveries into translational-level research and to define how circadian function is an integral component of health and disease processes. This article provides an overview of animal studies that have examined behavioral and molecular links between the circadian clock and various physiologic processes, with a focus on energy metabolism.