HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rothwell, N J Articles by Thexton, A J Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rothwell, N J Articles by Thexton, A J

Under fluothane anaesthesia, suction decerebration was performed at the immediate pre-pontine level in adult, male, Sprague-Dawley rats; this resulted in a large and sustained rise in rectal temperature from 35.6 +/- 0.2 (control) to 38.8 +/- 0.5 degrees C (decerebrate) following recovery from anaesthesia. Propranolol inhibited this rise. In a separate group of continuously (urethane) anaesthetized rats, brain transection at the immediate pre-pontine level produced marked increases in rectal temperature and oxygen consumption, both of which were inhibited by injection of the beta-adrenergic antagonist propranolol (10 mg/kg). The rise in rectal temperature (2.8 +/- 0.4 degrees C) after transection was preceded by a greater increase (3.6 +/- 0.3 degrees C) in the temperature of the interscapular brown adipose tissue (i.b.a.t.). Skin temperature on the tail showed no immediate response. In anaesthetized lean (+/?) male Zucker rats, rectal and i.b.a.t. temperatures showed similar responses to Sprague-Dawley rats after decerebration, but in the genetically obese (fa/fa) Zucker rat, temperatures were not significantly altered by decerebration. The above results, together with macroscopic examination of the transected brains, suggest that descending pathways (possibly arising in the mid-brain tegmentum) normally inhibit a sustained thermogenic drive from areas in the lower brain stem. Decerebration can release this inhibition and cause a large rise in body temperature and in metabolic rate, which apparently result from sympathetic activation of i.b.a.t. The genetically obese Zucker rat exhibits an impaired thermogenic response to decerebration.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. A. Rathner, C. J. Madden, and S. F. Morrison Central pathway for spontaneous and prostaglandin E2-evoked cutaneous vasoconstriction Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, July 1, 2008; 295(1): R343 - R354. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. F. Morrison, K. Nakamura, and C. J. Madden Central control of thermogenesis in mammals Exp Physiol, July 1, 2008; 93(7): 773 - 797. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. F. Morrison Central Pathways Controlling Brown Adipose Tissue Thermogenesis Physiology, April 1, 2004; 19(2): 67 - 74. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Uno and M. Shibata Role of inferior olive and thoracic IML neurons in nonshivering thermogenesis in rats Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, February 1, 2001; 280(2): R536 - R546. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. F. Morrison, A. F. Sved, and A. M. Passerin GABA-mediated inhibition of raphe pallidus neurons regulates sympathetic outflow to brown adipose tissue Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, February 1, 1999; 276(2): R290 - R297. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M.R. Pranzatelli, S.G. Pavlakis, R.J. Gould, and D.C. De Vivo Hypothalamic-Midbrain Dysregulation Syndrome: Hypertension, Hyperthermia, Hyperventilation, and Decerebration J Child Neurol, April 1, 1991; 6(2): 115 - 122. [Abstract] [PDF]