Department of Integrative Physiology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2024;1461:141-159. doi: 10.1007/978-981-97-4584-5_10.
Thermoregulation is a fundamental homeostatic function in mammals mediated by the central nervous system. The framework of the central circuitry for thermoregulation lies in the hypothalamus and brainstem. The preoptic area (POA) of the hypothalamus integrates cutaneous and central thermosensory information into efferent control signals that regulate excitatory descending pathways through the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) and rostral medullary raphe region (rMR). The cutaneous thermosensory feedforward signals are delivered to the POA by afferent pathways through the lateral parabrachial nucleus, while the central monitoring of body core temperature is primarily mediated by warm-sensitive neurons in the POA for negative feedback regulation. Prostaglandin E, a pyrogenic mediator produced in response to infection, acts on the POA to trigger fever. Recent studies have revealed that this circuitry also functions for physiological responses to psychological stress and starvation. Master psychological stress signaling from the medial prefrontal cortex to the DMH has been discovered to drive a variety of physiological responses for stress coping, including hyperthermia. During starvation, hunger signaling from the hypothalamus was found to activate medullary reticular neurons, which then suppress thermogenic sympathetic outflows from the rMR for energy saving. This thermoregulatory circuit represents a fundamental mechanism of the central regulation for homeostasis.
体温调节是哺乳动物的一项基本的体内平衡功能，由中枢神经系统介导。体温调节的中枢回路框架位于下丘脑和脑干。下丘脑的视前区（POA）将皮肤和中枢温度感觉信息整合为传出控制信号，通过下丘脑背内侧核（DMH）和延髓吻侧区（rMR）调节兴奋性下行通路。皮肤温度感觉的前馈信号通过外侧臂旁核传入到 POA，而身体核心温度的中枢监测主要由 POA 中的热敏神经元介导，以进行负反馈调节。前列腺素 E 是一种对感染产生的发热介质，作用于 POA 以引发发热。最近的研究表明，该回路还参与了对心理压力和饥饿的生理反应。已经发现，从前扣带回皮层到 DMH 的心理压力信号转导可驱动各种用于应对压力的生理反应，包括体温升高。在饥饿期间，发现来自下丘脑的饥饿信号激活了延髓网状神经元，然后抑制来自 rMR 的产热交感神经流出，以节省能量。这个体温调节回路代表了中枢调节体内平衡的基本机制。
