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Can our thermoregulatory system anticipate temperature exposure?
1Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Ishikawa, Japan. o-shido@med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
After daily heat exposure for approximately 5 h/day during a fixed time for more than 5 consecutive days, body core temperature of rats decreases during the period when they were previously exposed to heat. The fall in body temperature persists for a few days after terminating the timed daily heat exposure. Additionally, various thermoregulatory changes to resist heat are brought about, especially during the specific heat-exposure period. It is therefore hypothesized that the thermoregulatory system can memorize a time for heat exposure and that, in accordance with the memory, thermoregulatory responses for neutralizing heat stress are induced, even without actual heat exposure, around the period corresponding to that of the previous heat exposure.