Cortical control of hypoxic suppression of thermogenesis induced by lateral hypothalamic lesion.

Acute hypoxic hypoxia is reported to suppress both diet- and cold-induced components of metabolism. In the present experiment the effects of hypoxic hypoxia on the oxygen consumption and on colonic and brown adipose tissue temperature were studied in rats with lesion of the lateral hypothalamus. The electroencephalographic activity, slow potential changes and cortical extracellular potassium concentration were also recorded. The results showed that acute hypoxic hypoxia blocked the thermogenesis induced by lateral hypothalamic lesion and the changes in temperatures were always preceded by modification of the cerebral cortex activity.