Johnson Alan Kim
Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1407, USA.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007 Aug;39(8):1388-400. doi: 10.1249/mss.0b013e3180686de8.
Thirst and the hunger for sodium containing fluids and food (i.e., sodium appetite) are the consequences of the generation of unique central nervous system states. Altered body fluid homeostasis produces sensory and perceptional changes that arise from signals generated in the body that serve as indices of body fluid balance and distribution. These signaling mechanisms activate networks of brain neurons that use specific neurochemicals to communicate between cells and process information. The brain integrates information derived from various bodily sources so that thirst and sodium appetite are in a true sense the synthetic products of the nervous system. In recent years much has been learned about the stimuli and receptor systems involved in signaling the brain to reflect the status of bodily fluids and about the central neural substrates that process such inputs to generate thirst and sodium appetite. Knowledge about the sensory nature of thirst and sodium appetite provides a basis for understanding the biological constraints under which thirst and sodium appetite operate. This information is important for appreciating the extent to which thirst and sodium appetite motivational states and behaviors can be relied on to maintain and repair disruptions of body fluid homeostasis.
口渴以及对含钠液体和食物的渴望（即钠食欲）是独特的中枢神经系统状态产生的结果。体液平衡的改变会产生感觉和知觉变化，这些变化源于身体产生的信号，这些信号作为体液平衡和分布的指标。这些信号机制激活脑神经元网络，这些网络使用特定的神经化学物质在细胞之间进行通信和处理信息。大脑整合来自身体各个部位的信息，因此口渴和钠食欲在真正意义上是神经系统的合成产物。近年来，人们对向大脑发出信号以反映体液状态的刺激和受体系统以及处理此类输入以产生口渴和钠食欲的中枢神经基质有了很多了解。关于口渴和钠食欲的感觉性质的知识为理解口渴和钠食欲运作的生物学限制提供了基础。这些信息对于了解口渴和钠食欲的动机状态和行为在多大程度上可以依赖于维持和修复体液平衡的破坏非常重要。
