Effect of one minute exposure to light at night on rat pineal serotonin N-acetyltransferase and melatonin

The activity of N-acetyltransferase in the rat pineal gland is more than 15 times higher at night than during the day. This circadian rhythm persists in complete darkness, or in blinded animals, and is suppressed in constant lighting. The N-acetyltransferase rhythm is 180 degrees out of phase with the serotonin rhythm and is similar to the norepinephrine and melatonin rhythms. Experiments in vitro indicate that norepinephrine, not serotonin, regulates the activity of N-acetyl-transferase through a highly specific receptor.

Light acting by way of the eye causes the dark-induced activity of serotonin N-acetyltransferase in the pineal gland of the rat to decrease with a halving time of about 3 minutes. This effect, which is one of the more rapid physiological changes known to occur in the activity of any enzyme that metabolizes biogenic amines, appears to explain the rapid increase in the concentration of pineal serotonin that is caused by light exposure at night.