Thermoregulation Flashcards
Mechanisms of Heat Production
ANS (sympathetic)
Endocrine (thyroxine, epinephrine)
Muscular Activity
Non-Shivering thermogenesis
Shivering location
dorsomedial posterior hypothalamus
Function of shivering
increase motoneuron excitation to produce heat
Location of voluntary action to produce heat
Cortex
What is normal body temperature? (morning)
36.7 C (98.06 F)
What is the normal range of body temperature? (morning)
36.3-37.1 C
What is the flow of control systems for thermoregulation?
Set point determined by controller acts on effector which changes the core temperature. Core temperature is measured by a sensor that then relays this information back to the controller to see if any adjustments need to be made.
How does core temperature vary?
- varies 1-2 C over 24 hour period
- lowest at 6am
- highest during early evening
- circadian rhythm
What does current body temperature affect?
- CoQ10 activity which generates energy via electron transport chain
- cellular function
What does environmental temperature affect?
-threatens body temperature as body is always generating heat
What is the function of core thermo receptors?
Located in the brain and viscera
In the viscera- tells body about core temperature and tells hypothalamus about possible threats to core temperature via food eaten
(i.e. shivering when eating ice cream)
What is the function of cutaneous thermo receptors (skin)?
Bimodal (temperature and touch sensitive)
May be warm or cold sensitive
10x as many cold sensitive because at skin level, cooling off is bigger threat to survival
Tell us about environmental conditions
Feed forward system: If I don’t do something, this will happen, so I’ll respond now to prevent that
Where do thermo receptors send signals and what occurs there?
Pre-optic and superoptic regions of hypothalamus
Contain neuron cell bodies sensitive to changes in temperature (3x as many warm sensitive)
Relay information to other areas of hypothalamus
What is the controller of thermoregulation in the body and how does it do this?
Hypothalamus
Connections to the hormonal, autonomic, and behavioral changes that are a part of thermoregulation
3 main jobs of hypothalamus
1) determine set point
2) receive info about current temp
3) decide what to do
How does the set point change with conditions?
Sleep: body temperature decreases; decreases the set point
Exercise: body temperature increases; increases set point
Function of Anterior Hypothalamus
Responds to heat
Heat loss behavior (cooling)
(Think AC)
Function of Posterior Hypothalamus
Responds to cooling
Heat production behavior
What are the challenges to thermoregulation in response to changes in environmental temperature?
Babies have high surface area in proportion to size so lose heat easily
Both anaerobic and aerobic metabolism generates heat as a by product
What are examples of non-shivering thermogenesis?
1) Hormonal influence: cold stimulates TRH release > thyroxin > increased metabolic rate; epinephrine
2) Increased food intake leads to increased metabolism
3) Brown adipose tissue: adrenergic innervation (sympathetic) for initiation