Comparison of thermosensitivity in the preoptic/anterior hypothalamic area and the midbrain of the rabbit.

To characterize the role of the midbrain temperature-sensitive structure in thermoregulation, the relative importance of thermosensitivity in the hypothalamus and the midbrain was studied in terms of heat production and heat loss in the rabbit. It was found that altering the local temperature in the midbrain had no influence at all on heat loss from the ear surface and also on heat production, while cooling and warming of the preoptic/anterior hypothalamic area induced appropriate thermoregulatory responses.