Circadian Physiology, Second Edition (Hardcover)

~ Roberto Refinetti Ph.D. (Author) "This chapter discusses the history of circadian physiology from ancient times to the present..." (more)
Key Phrases: Journal of Biological Rhythms, New York, Brain Research (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Although the size of the book has been expanded three-fold…the popular overall structure of the first edition has been maintained, with five sections covering history and methodology, phemonenology, mechanisms, substrates, and practical applications. Each chapter has extensive tables, figures, photographs…. New features of the second edition include discussions of retinal photoreceptors, non-hypothalamic circadian pacemakers, and genomic and proteomic mechanisms. …the text remains one of the few comprehensive and scientific introductions to circadian physiology that are currently available, and it should remain in popular demand….
--Roy J. Shepard, Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol. 20, Issue 1

praise for the first edition
Marvelous summary of research on circadian rhythms and the relevance to human behavior.
-- James W. Kalat Biological Psychology, 8th Edition
Both the book and the programs provide interesting and useful material.
-- Stanley Coren, APA Review of Books

…Refinetti goes to great lengths in defining and explaining many basic concepts with no presumption that undergraduates who would be interested in the subfield of circadian biology would have already covered most of these topics: for example, scientific methods, research ethics, statistics. This probably makes the book easily readable and interesting for some motivated high school students and people with very little science background…This book is seventh heaven for visually oriented learners.
-Mehmet Dokucu, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 51, No. 43, October 2006

…Refinetti goes to great lengths in defining and explaining many basic concepts with no presumption that undergraduates who would be interested in the subfield of circadian biology would have already covered most of these topics: for example, scientific methods, research ethics, statistics. This probably makes the book easily readable and interesting for some motivated high school students and people with very little science background…This book is seventh heaven for visually oriented learners.
—Mehmet Dokucu, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 51, No. 43, October 2006
Although the size of the book has been expanded three-fold…the popular overall structure of the first edition has been maintained, with five sections covering history and methodology, phemonenology, mechanisms, substrates, and practical applications. Each chapter has extensive tables, figures, photographs…. New features of the second edition include discussions of retinal photoreceptors, non-hypothalamic circadian pacemakers, and genomic and proteomic mechanisms. …the text remains one of the few comprehensive and scientific introductions to circadian physiology that are currently available, and it should remain in popular demand….
--Roy J. Shepard, Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol. 20, Issue 1
… reviews rigorously all the basic and applied researches on circadian rhythms published up today. … An included CD-Rom provides a suite of computer programs designed to offer practical experience on a variety of topics. … The rigorous and easy to read way of description of all the aspects of circadian physiology brings clarity to this new science elucidating also the involved mechanisms of action of biological timing. The scheduling of the different topics, the relative use of the CD-Rom included, with 5,000 bibliographic references reported, makes it an easy to read book for Dermatologists, Cosmetic Chemists, Plastic  Surgeons, and of course, all the life scientists interested to better understand the importance of circadian rhythms in the everyday life. The reported selection of facts and theories compiled in an easy way makes the circadian rhythmicity comprehensible to all students and general readers too.
— P. Morganti, Editor-in-Chief, in the Journal of Applied Cosmetology, Vol. 25, No. 2, pg. 76-78, April/June 2007
praise for the first edition
Marvelous summary of research on circadian rhythms and the relevance to human behavior.
-- James W. Kalat Biological Psychology, 8^th Edition
Both the book and the programs provide interesting and useful material.
-- Stanley Coren, APA Review of Books

Product Description

While the first edition of the critically acclaimed and highly popular Circadian Physiologyoffered a concise but rigorous review of basic and applied research on circadian rhythms, this newest edition provides educators with the primary textbook they need to support a course on this cutting-edge topic. Maintaining the same accessible multidisciplinary approach of the original, this volume provides a thorough grounding in a broad range of topics, while offering instructors many unique advantages. 

This impressive handbook provides the foundation, along with the supplementary material, and all the implementation details necessary to run a cutting-edge class on an exceptionally timely and intriguing topic.

This edition of Circadian Physiologynot only updates the material covered in the original, but it also expands its length and scope, presenting many new findings, such as the discovery of new retinal photoreceptors, the identification of several non-hypothalamic circadian pacemakers, and the elucidation of genomic and proteomic mechanisms of biological timing. Three times the length of the original, this volume includes approximately 730 figures and 5,000 bibliographic references, making it a true handbook of circadian physiology.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: CRC; 2 edition (October 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849322332
• ISBN-13: 978-0849322334
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,091,717 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Note from the Author, November 25, 2005

By	R. Refinetti (Walterboro, SC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Of course you would expect the author of the book to be positive about it. However, the only other posted review seems to be a mistaken entry. It refers to the first edition of the book (6 years older and 3 times smaller than the second edition) and gives it a low rating without any explanation. So, here are some helpful clarifications. If you are a graduate student or a scientist, you should buy the second edition, not only because it is up-to-date but also because it is much more detailed than the first edition. If you are a general reader, you may find the first edition more palatable (and you won't even notice that some scientific details have changed in the intervening 6 years). Both editions provide an overview of research on circadian rhythms and its applications. The great advantage of this book over other books on circadian rhythms is that it is a single-author book instead of an edited compilation of essays by multiple authors.

2.0 out of 5 stars Save Your Money, July 24, 2008

By	J. Barr (Westerville, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Even a cursory knowledge will make this book useless. A better introduction can be had for free from scouring the internet. The author spends inordinate amounts of time boring the reader to make small points in an effort to prove how "scientific" he is. In many cases the footnotes at the end of the chapter have more pages or as many as the chapter content pages. Definitions are often not made clear--a must in a introductory text. A person new to the field would be left staring at an italicized word in a paragraph trying to piece together a definintion based on the one surrounding example. No glossary is provided in a book which is supposed to be written for an interdisciplinary audience. The book needs to be edited. The first 20 pages are useless, merely making the point that science is based on fact and refutable theories. Only chapters 9 and 10 are worthwhile with a brief but good description of the neurophysiology and molecular structures of circadian cycles. I got this book used from a dealer and its an ealier printing but I've examined the overpriced present edition and can't say that that much has been added to justify the outrageous price of $130 USD.

1 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a book to buy (no) BORROW (yes) burn (no), August 25, 2003

By	Vegetarian Pacifist "challenge3XinthenameofJesus" (pray the entire Rosary daily; wear the brown Scapular 24/7: fatima.org) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Circadian Physiology (Hardcover)

Circadian Physiology is a comprehensive but easy-to-read book on circadian rhythms targeted at life scientists who are not specialists in biological rhythms. It is accessible to researchers and general readers and can be used as a textbook for courses on biological rhythms.

Contents
Biological Clock: Facts and Hoopla
1. Facts and Superstition
2. Biorhythms, Pregnancy Predestination, and Aging
3. Biological Rhythms
Circadian Rhythms: Physiology and Behavior
4. Daily and Circadian Rhythms
5. The Operation of the Clock
6. Environmental Influences
7. Complex Parameters
Circadian Pacemaker: Neuroscience and Molecular Biology
8. Physical Location of the Clock
9. Neurophysiology and Pharmacology of the Clock
10. Molecular Structure of the Clock
Chronobiology: Business and Health Care
11. Jet Lag and Shift Work
12. Sleep Disorders
13. Depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder
14. Other Applications
Doing It Yourself: Software for Data Analysis and Simulation