Dipsogenesis in cold-acclimated rats.

Water intakes of control rats kept at 25 degrees C and cold-acclimated rats kept at 6 degrees C for at least 4 weeks were compared when both groups were at 25 degrees C. Cold-acclimated rats exhibited an increase in water intake (thermogenic drink) during the first but not the second hour after removal from the cold. Cold-acclimated rats, administered the dipsogenic agents angiotensin I, angiotensin II, isoproterenol or serotonin, had water intakes not significantly different from control rats. Administration (1% of body weight) of several different doses of hypertonic NaCl (0.25 to 1.00M) intraperitoneally increased water intake to the same level in both control and cold-acclimated rats. Water deprivation for 24 h, initiated either 2 or 24 h after removal of cold-acclimated rats from the cold, resulted in water intakes not significantly different between cold-acclimated and control rats. In spite of an initial thermogenic drink on removal of cold-acclimated rats from cold, cold-acclimation does not appear to alter the dipsogenic responsiveness of rats to either extracellular or intracellular dipsogenic stimuli, or to a dipsogenic stimulus (dehydration) involving both.