Biological Rhythms in Psychiatry and Medicine

Every doctor scanning temperature charts, or nurse observing depressed patients, as well as every east-west jet traveler or menstruating woman, recognizes the importance of rhythms in physiology and mood. Until recently, little scientific investigation was made of these rhythms, but now more and more workers in different fields are studying the effects of rhythms, called circadian if they have 24-hour cycles, ultradian if they have shorter, and infradian if they have longer cycles. The National Institute of Mental Health has supported some of this research and has gathered much of the material into this report. Apparently many workers collaborated in its preparation and no author's name is given on the title page. There is a small notation that it was written by Gay Gaer Luce for the Program Analysis and Evaluation Branch. Miss Luce must be congratulated for writing a smooth, readable, interesting, and easily understandable summary of much diverse