Abstract
To adapt the timing of processes regulated by the circadian clock to seasonally varying photoperiods, the phase relation between the circadian clock and dusk or dawn (“phase of entrainment”) must be tightly adjusted. The authors use a mathematical model of the molecular mammalian circadian oscillator to investigate the influence of the free-running period (•) and the shape of the PRC on the phase of entrainment. They find that a phase-dependent sensitivity (“gating”) of light-induced
