Summary
In four conscious goats with chronically implanted hypothalamic thermodes, forty-three experiments were carried out at environmental conditions between +5°C and 30°C DB/18°C WB. The temperature of the hypothalamus was altered by perfusing the thermodes with water whose temperature, as measured at the inlet of the thermodes, varied between 30°C and 43°C. Heat production, respiratory evaporative heat loss, rectal and oesophageal temperatures were measured. Hypothalamic cooling resulted in an elevation of rectal temperature, while hypothalamic heating caused a fall in temperature. The relation between the intensity of hypothalamic thermal stimulation and the induced change in core temperature can be well described by linear regressions. No difference in sensitivity and no dead band between responses to cold and warm stimulation was found. The experiments show that hypothalamic and extra-hypothalamic sensors of core temperature continuously operate at high sensitivity even within the narrow range of physiologically occurring core temperatures. Qualitatively, this sensitivity is independent of air temperatures between +5°C and +30°C.
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Jessen, C., Clough, D.P. Evaluation of hypothalamic thermosensitivity by feedback signals. Pflugers Arch. 345, 43–59 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00587061
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00587061