Margarita Dubocovich, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Science
BUFFALO, N.Y. Mention melatonin and many people think of the over-the-counter sleep aid. But the hormone made in the brain’s pineal gland controls much more than just how sleepy we get, according to research published in the Journal of Pineal Research by a team of scientists from the University at Buffalo, RIKEN in Japan and other institutions.
The research reveals for the first time the multiple roles that the naturally occurring melatonin molecule plays in processes ranging from circadian rhythms to reproduction to “torpor,” an energy-conserving state similar to short-term hibernation.
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