Hypothalamic neurons. Mechanisms of sensitivity to temperature.

Rostral hypothalamic neurons are influenced by endogenous factors that affect thermoregulation and fever. Intracellular recordings reveal the synaptic and intrinsic mechanisms responsible for neuronal thermosensitivity. Many temperature-sensitive and temperature-insensitive neurons display a depolarizing prepotential that precedes action potentials. Temperature has little effect on the prepotential of insensitive neurons; however, in warm-sensitive neurons, the prepotential's depolarization is elevated by warming, and this increases the firing rate. Intracellular cAMP can increase neuronal thermosensitivity by enhancing the thermal response of the prepotential, most likely by thermosensitive ionic conductances. Warm-sensitive neurons also receive inhibitory synaptic input (IPSPs) from temperature-insensitive neurons, enhancing the thermosensitivity of some neurons, because cooling increases IPSP amplitude and duration. Therefore, even though IPSP frequencies do not change, cooling can decrease firing rates by increasing IPSP amplitudes. Because endogenous factors change neuronal firing rate and thermosensitivity, these changes likely occur both post- and presynaptically as well as by ionic conductances that determine the time interval between action potentials.