Zweig M. et al.: Evidence for a nonretinal pathway of light to the pineal gland of newborn rats

Mark Zweig, Solomon H. Snyder and Julius Axelrod: Evidence for a nonretinal pathway of light to the pineal gland of newborn rats.
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol. 56, No. 2 (Aug. 15, 1966), pp. 515-520.

Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC224403/pdf/pnas00147-0213.pdf


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The pineal gland of rats is markedly affected by exposure of the animals to varying periods of light and darkness. After maintenance of adult rats in continuous lighting, there is a significant decrease in pineal gland weight' and in the enzymatic capacity of the pineal gland to synthesize melatonin, and an increase in the activity of the serotonin-synthesizing enzyme, 5-hydroxytryptophan decarboxylase, in the pineal gland. These effects of light exposure are abolished by bilateral orbital enucleation.
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