Evidence of environmental influence on the development of thermoregulation in the rat.
Sprague-Dawley rats were raised in an environmentally controlled room at 33 degrees C. Thermoregulatory responses of animals reared in this way were compared with those of control and warm-acclimated rats. Warm-reared animals demonstrated a significantly greater fall in colonic temperature during cold exposure when compared with both warm-acclimated (p less than 0.01) and control (p less than 0.001) animals. Warm-reared animals also show a modified response to central infusion of noradrenaline; they produce a hyperthermia in contrast with the hypothermia observed in control and warm-acclimated rats. These results suggest that the early thermal environment may modify the development of temperature regulation in the Sprague-Dawley rat in a way different from the normal acclimation process.
D000064:Acclimatization; D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004777:Environment; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D013997:Time Factors
D009638:Norepinephrine