title: Pregnancy alters body-core temperature response to a simulated open field in rats.
abstract: Exposure of a rat to a novel environment (e.g., a simulated open field) induces a transient increase in body-core temperature, which is often called stress-induced hyperthermia. Although pregnancy is known to influence thermoregulatory control, its effect on stress-induced hyperthermia is unknown. Therefore, 24 Sprague-Dawley rats (8 nonpregnant and 16 pregnant) were studied to test the hypothesis that pregnancy would alter the development of stress-induced hyperthermia after exposure to a simulated open field. Body-core temperature index increased significantly after exposure to a simulated open field in nonpregnant and gestation day-10 rats but not in gestation day-15 and day-20 rats. Thus our data provide evidence that pregnancy influences the body-core temperature response of rats exposed to a simulated open field in a gestation-dependent fashion. The functional consequences as well as the mechanisms involved remain to be determined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Calgary Health Sciences Center, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Fewell
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000503:physiopathology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*