Reflex control of rat tail sympathetic nerve activity by abdominal temperature

Abstract

The thermoregulatory reflex effects of warming and cooling in the abdomen were investigated in 4 urethane-anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals were shaved and surrounded by a water-perfused silastic jacket. Skin temperature under the jacket was recorded by thermocouples at 3 sites and brain temperature was monitored by a thermocouple inserted lateral to the hypothalamus. A heat exchanger made from an array of silicon tubes in parallel loops was placed through a ventral incision into the abdomen; it rested against the intestinal serosa and the temperature of this interface was monitored by a thermocouple. Few- or multi-unit postganglionic activity was recorded from sympathetic nerves sup..