Effects of carbon dioxide inhalation on preoptic thermosensitive neurons

The effects of inspired CO2 on preoptic thermosensitive neurons were studied in urethanized rats. Most of the neurons changed their activities diversely while the rat breathed 4%, 7%, and 10% CO2 gas mixtures. Half of the neurons increased activity during CO2 inhalation, but activity was not necessarily intensified by elevating CO2 concentration. Thermosensitive neurons tended to increase activity more than thermally insensitive neurons. The effect of CO2 on sensitivity of thermosensitive neurons was also examined by regression of neuronal activity on preoptic temperature. The slopes of the regression lines during CO2 inhalation did not differ significantly from those during air inhalation in either warm-sensitive or cold-sensitive neurons, but CO2 did elevate the intercepts in most instances (P less than 0.01). However, if P less than 0.05 is accepted as a significance level, the slopes of the regression lines for warm-sensitive neurons tended to decrease during CO2 inhalation (9/39 pairs). The present results indicate that preoptic thermosensitive neurons generally increase their activities and modify their thermosensitivities during CO2 inhalation.