Label the parts

Label the parts

 By the end of the lesson
you...
● Must be able to evaluate the role of internal
pacemakers (body clock) and external zietgebers in
the regulation of the circadian sleep-wake cycle.
● Must be able to discuss research into the circadian
sleep-wake cycle.
 Research

Siffre (1972 and onwards) 7

months underground in a cave
with no cues of light,
temperature or social contact.

Regular cycles remained, but

24hr. cycle lengthened to about
25 hr.
Activity: Siffre (1975) Fill-The-Blanks
 Research

People living in the Arctic circle

have winter days with little
daylight, if circadian rhythm was
purely linked to an exogenous
zeitgeber of light, they would
sleep most of the day.
 Research

● Decoursey and Krulas (1998)

found that chipmunks that
had their endogenous clock
surgically damaged, lost their
normal rest-activity cycle, and
were more prone to
predation in the wild.
 Research

Morgan (1955) bred hamsters so that

they had circadian rhythms of 20 hours
rather than 24. SCN neurons from
these abnormal hamsters were
transplanted into the brains of normal
hamsters, which subsequently
displayed the same abnormal circadian
rhythm of 20 hours, showing that the
transplanted SCN had imposed its
pattern onto the hamsters.
 Research

Rhythmic activity of SCN

tissue in culture: Firing rate
rises during the day and
falls at night for these two
SCN cells despite being
maintained in vitro without
any temporal cues.
 Research

● Skene and Arendt (2007)

claimed that the majority of
blind people who still have
some light perception have
normal circadian rhythms
whereas those without any
light perception show
abnormal circadian rhythms.
 Explain

Explain, using research, why the regulation of

an internal body clock could change. (4)
 Explain
Credit up to two marks for identification of correct points related to
internal body clock (AO1).
Credit up to two marks for justification of correct points related to
internal body clock using appropriate research (AO3).

For example:

Siffre’s research shows that the circadian rhythm/24 sleep-wake cycle has an internal
control/internal body clock (1) which in the absence of cues/zeitgebers means we
cannot control it at 24 hours (1). Our body clock can change due to the absence of
external cues/zeitgebers like temperature and light which control internal body clocks (1)
absence of external cues could have resulted in Siffre’s internal clock altering to
approximately 48 hours instead of staying at 24 hours (1).
 Essay

Evaluate the role of internal pacemakers (body

clock) and external zeitgebers in the regulation of
the sleep-wake cycle. (12)
 Essay
AO1
● The sleep-wake cycle is a circadian rhythm as it lasts 24 hours.
● Circadian rhythms like the sleep-wake cycle can be endogenous and built-in to our
biological make-up.
● Endogenous pacemakers/biological clocks can be irregular and often require
environmental influences to keep them regular.
● Exogenous/External zeitgebers like light regulate the internal body clock (endogenous
pacemaker).
● The SCN is part of the hypothalamus that regulates sleep-waking patterns by sending
messages to the pineal gland.
● Humans have a free running 25 hour endogenous biological clock which is kept to 24
hours by the external zeitgeber light.
 Essay

AO3
● Supporting evidence for the influence of external zeitgebers comes from Siffre’s (1999).
● However, Siffre’s study was only completed on one individual and therefore may not be
representative of the sleep-wake cycle.
● Aschoff and Weber (1963) support longer sleep-wake cycle than 24 hours.
● Research on the influence of external zeitgebers has been completed on animals so
generalising to humans is difficult.
● People living in the Arctic circle have winter days with little daylight, if circadian rhythm
was purely linked to an exogenous zeitgeber of light, they would sleep most of the day.
● Evidence over simplifies the sleep-wake cycle’s reliance on light, whereas the role of
neurotransmitters can play a more significant role than credited.
Can you…
● Evaluate the role of internal
pacemakers (body clock) and
external zietgebers in the
regulation of the circadian
sleep-wake cycle?
● Discuss research into the
circadian sleep-wake cycle?