Circadian rhythms are inherent to living organisms from single cells to humans and operate on a genetically determined cycle of approximately 24 hours. These endogenous rhythms are aligned with the external light/dark cycle of the Earth's rotation and offer the advantage of anticipating environmental changes. Circadian rhythms act directly on human cognition and indirectly through their fundamental influence on sleep/wake cycles. The strength of the circadian regulation of performance depends on the accumulated sleep debt and the cognitive domain, and it has been suggested to involve the activation of ascending arousal systems and their interaction with attention and other cognitive processes. In addition, attention-related cortical responses show extensive circadian rhythms, the phases of which vary across brain regions. This review discusses the impact of the circadian system on sleep/wake regulation and cognitive performance. It further addresses the health implications of circadian disruption, particularly in relation to mental and neurological disorders.

中文翻译：

---

昼夜节律大脑和认知


昼夜节律是从单个细胞到人类的生物体所固有的，并且以大约 24 小时的遗传决定周期运行。这些内生节律与地球自转的外部光/暗周期一致，并提供了预测环境变化的优势。昼夜节律直接作用于人类认知，并通过它们对睡眠/觉醒周期的根本影响间接作用于人类认知。昼夜节律调节性能的强度取决于累积的睡眠债务和认知领域，有人认为它涉及上升唤醒系统的激活及其与注意力和其他认知过程的相互作用。此外，与注意力相关的皮层反应表现出广泛的昼夜节律，其相位因大脑区域而异。本综述讨论了昼夜节律系统对睡眠/觉醒调节和认知能力的影响。它进一步解决了昼夜节律紊乱对健康的影响，特别是与精神和神经系统疾病有关的影响。