Suprachiasmatic nuclei influence torpor and circadian temperature rhythms in hamsters

Siberian hamsters were maintained in a short-day photoperiod (8 h light-day) at 15 degrees C; body temperature (Tb) and locomotor activity were telemetrically recorded at 10-min intervals over the course of 5 mo. Animals manifesting repeated torpor bouts (Tb less than 30 degrees C for several hours) were subjected to lesions of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), pinealectomy, or sham operations. In the 15 wk after surgery, none of the animals with bilateral lesions of the SCN exhibited torpor; circadian Tb and locomotor activity rhythms, as determined by cosinor and power spectral analysis, also were absent in SCN-lesioned hamsters. Pinealectomized animals and brain-lesioned hamsters with intact SCN had normal circadian temperature and activity rhythms and showed torpor for at least 4 wk postsurgically. Expression of torpor and circadian rhythms of Tb and activity are dependent on intact SCN and persist for several weeks in the absence of pineal secretory activity.