Pineal photosensitivity. A comparison with retinal photoreception.
Pineal photoreceptors of poikilothermic vertebrates possess numerous anatomical, physiological and biochemical similarities to retinal photoreceptors, including the rhythmic melatonin biosynthesis, with nocturnal peaks and low day-time levels. This brief outline will survey the photoreceptor properties of the pineal organ of poikilothermic vertebrates, which suggest that the pineal is not only a simple light detector (that acts as a kind of photometer), but that it is capable of processing the light information and to discriminate it from informations that have no meaning for its assumed photoperiodic function.
Meissl
H
H
Max-Planck-Institute for Physiological and Clinical Research, W.G. Kerckhoff-Institute, Bad Nauheim, Germany.
Yáñez
J
J
D000064:Acclimatization; D000818:Animals; D003624:Darkness; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008550:Melatonin / Q000096:biosynthesis; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D014714:Vertebrates
D008550:Melatonin