Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 46, Issue 6 1049-1053, Copyright © 1979 by American Physiological Society
Thermoregulation in unrestrained rats during and after exposure to 1.5--4 G
J. Giacchino, B. A. Horwitz and J. M. Horowitz
Unrestrained rats were exposed to cold for 1 h during and immediately after
exposure to hypergravic fields (1.5--4 G) to determine if they recover
their ability to thermoregulate on reentry to 1-G conditions. In contrast
to the decreased body temperatures observed when cold exposure occurred
concurrently with acceleration, hypothalamic, carotid, and brown fat
temperatures did not fall when rats were exposed to cold immediately after
return to 1 G. These results support the hypothesis that the
thermoregulatory alterations seen under hypergravic conditions are
manifestations of an effect of ongoing exposure to hypergravity and can be
reversed on termination of acceleration. The reversibility of the
thermoregulatory impairment is apparently unaffected by the magnitude of
the acceleration field over a range of 1.5--4 G.
