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Updated: Jul 9, 2026
07:56
Measuring Skeletal Muscle Thermogenesis in Mice and Rats
Published on: July 27, 2022
Rat behavioral thermoregulation integrates with nonshivering thermogenesis during postnatal development
William J Farrell1, Jeffrey R Alberts
1Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 113667, USA. william.farrel@qc.cuny.edu
Behavioral Neuroscience
|December 19, 2007
Summary
Young rat pups develop the ability to adjust their behavior based on metabolic heat production during their first week of life. This allows them to better regulate body temperature using brown adipose tissue (BAT).
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Developmental Biology
- Thermoregulation
Background:
- Rat pups exhibit behavioral thermoregulation and non-shivering thermogenesis from birth.
- Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a key source of metabolic heat production in newborns.
- The interplay between BAT thermogenesis and behavioral thermoregulation in early life is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how pharmacological manipulation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis affects the thermal preferences of rat pups at different postnatal ages.
- To determine the developmental timeline for the integration of metabolic heat production with behavioral thermoregulation.
Main Methods:
- Rat pups aged 2, 7, and 14 days were placed on a thermal gradient.
- BAT thermogenesis was pharmacologically stimulated using norepinephrine (NE) or inhibited.
- Thermal preference was quantified by observing pup location on the gradient.
Main Results:
- Norepinephrine (NE) treatment led 7- and 14-day-old pups to prefer cooler temperatures compared to controls.
- Two-day-old pups did not exhibit significant behavioral adjustments in response to NE.
- These findings suggest a developmental window for integrating metabolic and behavioral thermoregulation.
Conclusions:
- The capacity to modify thermoregulatory behavior in response to enhanced metabolic heat production emerges during the first week of postnatal life in rat pups.
- This developmental process is crucial for effective thermoregulation in early life.
- Future research could explore the neural mechanisms underlying this developmental shift.
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