1984 Volume 34 Issue 1 Pages 103-111
The role of the sympathetic nervous system in 10-min cold (5°C)- or 2-min immobilization-induced thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) was studied in warm(25°C)-acclimated rats. Both cold- and immobilization-stresses increased heat production (M), interscapular brown adipose tissue temperature (Tbat), and colonic temperature (Tcol). Resulting from both stresses, the increase in Tbat was greater than that in Tcol, the differences (ΔTbat) becoming approximately 0.48 and 0.46°C by the cold exposure and the immobilization, respectively. After sympathectomy, Tbat and ΔTbat did not change on immobilization but increased significantly on the cold exposure. ΔTbat was 0.31°C in the sympathectomized rats at the end of the cold exposure period. Immobilization-induced BAT thermogenesis may be mainly controlled by the sympathetic nervous system. On the other hand cold-induced BAT thermogenesis seems to be controlled by certain hormonal factors as well as the sympathetic nervous system.
