Central control of body temperature. A review.

The control of body temperature takes place in the central nervous system at different levels, from the spinal cord to the upper parts of the brain. Experimental studies have shown that heat-producing muscular shivering is stimulated only when the spinal cord becomes cooler. The regulation of other components participating in the control of thermoregulation proceeds in hierarchical order so that the coordination takes place ultimately in the hypothalamus, mainly in the preoptic region, and at the same time temperature regulation is coupled with other autonomic functions such as control of food intake, osmoregulation, and hormone secretion. Those neuronal models, by means of which attempts were still being made a few years ago to demonstrate the linkages and integration of the neuronal pathways stimulating heat gain and heat loss in the control centre of temperature regulation are already obsolete. This is due to the fact that the neurons of the central nervous system do not transmit information from cell to cell by means of only one classical transmitter substance, but each neuron can signal by means of at least 5-6 neurotransmitters or neuromodulators.