G. Sokoloff et Ms. Blumberg, ACTIVE SLEEP IN COLD-EXPOSED INFANT NORWAY RATS AND SYRIAN GOLDEN-HAMSTERS - THE ROLE OF BROWN ADIPOSE-TISSUE THERMOGENESIS, Behavioral neuroscience, 112(3), 1998, pp. 695-706
It was previously hypothesized that brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermog
enesis helps to maintain high rates of myoclonic twitching during cold
exposure in infant rats (M. S. Blumberg & M. A. Stolba, 1996). To tes
t this hypothesis, the sensitivity of twitching to various levels of c
old exposure was assessed in week-old rats that were untreated or whos
e BAT thermogenesis was inhibited using a ganglionic blocker. Because
week-old golden hamsters do not exhibit BAT thermogenesis, their sleep
behaviors during cold exposure also were examined. Additional investi
gations in infant rats were conducted in which supplemental heat was p
rovided to the interscapular region using a thermode and in which BAT
was activated pharmacologically in ganglionically blocked pups. The re
sults support the hypothesis that myoclonic twitching is sensitive to
the prevailing air temperature and the activation of BAT thermogenesis
.