[Influence of stress and stress-protecting factors on rat tolerance to cold and efficiency of rat adaptation to cold].

The adaptive characteristics of the body, including the specific features of increased cold resistance upon repeated exposures to cold, are determined not only by the properties of thermogenic structures themselves, but largely depend on the contribution of the central mechanisms which control the processes of habituation and mobilization of functions. The experiments revealed an increase in cold resistance in rats after preexposure to cold. Immobilization stress prior to training cold significantly decreased rapid cold resistance in the animals, but increased the training effect of the first cooling. On the contrary, chlordiazepoxide increased cold resistance during the first cooling. Testing of the untreated animal showed no effect of training. No adaptive changes in cold resistance occurred in rats with impaired amygdaloid complex. Analyzing adrenal catecholamines revealed a significant elevation of dopamine concentrations in the rats exposed to cold. Hypothalamic catecholamines did not change with cold and serotonin in intact rats and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in amygdalectomized rats substantially increased.