Hyperthermia induces c-fos expression in the preoptic area.
To identify thermosensitive areas of brain, we exposed rats to warm or cool environments and used the expression of the protein Fos as a marker of neuronal activity. In hyperthermic, heat-exposed rats, the median preoptic nucleus, and the medial and lateral preoptic areas had significantly more Fos immunoreactive neurons than control or cold-exposed animals. These observations add to the physiologic evidence that neurons of the preoptic area participate in thermoregulation and provide a means to identify the neurotransmitter systems involved.
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco.
T E
TE
Scammell
K J
KJ
Price
S M
SM
Sagar
D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology; D005334:Fever / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000502:physiology*; D016762:Genes, fos; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D011301:Preoptic Area / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats