Effect of dehydration on thirst and drinking during immersion in men

The mechanism for reduced voluntary water intake during water immersion was studied in eight men (19-25 yr of age) immersed to the neck while sitting for 3 h at 34.5 degrees C or in air at 28 degrees C when euhydrated (Eu-H2O and Eu-air, respectively) and hypohydrated (Hypo-H2O and Hypo-air) by 3.6% body weight loss. Thirst sensations (degree of thirst, mouth dryness and taste, drinking desirability, and stomach fullness) were similar at the beginning of Hypo-air and Hypo-H2O test periods. Initial drinking of tap water (15 degrees C) was 216 +/- 30 ml/7 min (P less than 0.05) with Hypo-air, decreased to 108 +/- 28 ml/7 min (P less than 0.05) with Hypo-H2O, and was 10-50 ml/10-30 min thereafter. Intake was less than 10 ml/10-30 min in Eu-air, and there was no drinking in Eu-H2O. Within the first 10 min of immersion, compared with Hypo-air findings, the significant reduction in drinking in the Hypo-H2O experiment was associated with unchanged plasma Na+, plasma osmolality, heart rates, and mean arterial pressures; the different responses were increased cardiac output, plasma volume, and atrial natriuretic peptides and decreased plasma renin activity and arginine vasopressin. Thus the extracellular pathway, as opposed to the osmotic pathway, appears to be the major mechanism for immersion-induced suppression of drinking.