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. 2021 Jun 8;9:686551. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.686551

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Copyright © 2021 Amini, Rezabakhsh, Heidarzadeh, Hassanpour, Hashemzadeh, Ghaderi, Sokullu, Rahbarghazi and Reiter.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Neural control of melatonin synthesis in the pineal gland (A). Melatonin, a well-known sleep-promoting molecule, is produced in the pineal gland as summarized in this figure. The secretion of melatonin is tightly controlled by suprachiasmatic and paraventricular nuclei in response to the light: dark cycle and the circadian clock mechanisms of the suprachiasmatic nuclei. The peak secretion of melatonin occurs at night time and reaches minimum levels at day. The synthesis of melatonin is a result of the enzymatic conversion of tryptophan to melatonin via the intermediate, molecule, serotonin (B).