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Hypothalamic neurons. Mechanisms of sensitivity to temperature
1Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|January 26, 1999
Summary
Rostral hypothalamic neurons control body temperature. Warming increases firing rates in warm-sensitive neurons by altering prepotentials and synaptic inputs, impacting thermoregulation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Physiology
Background:
- Rostral hypothalamic neurons play a key role in thermoregulation and fever.
- Neuronal thermosensitivity is influenced by intrinsic and synaptic mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the synaptic and intrinsic mechanisms underlying neuronal thermosensitivity in the rostral hypothalamus.
- To understand how temperature affects neuronal firing rates and thermosensitivity.
Main Methods:
- Intracellular recordings were used to study neuronal activity.
- The effects of temperature on neuronal prepotentials and synaptic inputs were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Warm-sensitive neurons exhibit a depolarizing prepotential that increases firing rate with warming.
- Intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) enhances neuronal thermosensitivity.
- Cooling increases inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) amplitude and duration, decreasing firing rates.
Conclusions:
- Neuronal firing rate and thermosensitivity are modulated by endogenous factors through pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms.
- Thermosensitivity involves alterations in ionic conductances and synaptic integration.