Central neural pathways for thermoregulation

Central neural circuits orchestrate a homeostatic repertoire to maintain body temperature during environmental temperature challenges and to alter body temperature during the inflammatory response. This review summarizes the functional organization of the neural pathways through which cutaneous thermal receptors alter thermoregulatory effectors: the cutaneous circulation for heat loss, the brown adipose tissue, skeletal muscle and heart for thermogenesis and species-dependent mechanisms (sweating, panting and saliva spreading) for evaporative heat loss. These effectors are regulated by parallel but distinct, effector-specific neural pathways that share a common peripheral thermal sensory input. The thermal…

• KC
  Kowa Company
• MO
  Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
• KL
  Kowa Life Science Foundation
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: DK57838, NS40987
• JS
  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science