A research team at Nagoya University in Japan reports that EP3 neurons in the preoptic area of the brain play a key role in regulating body temperature in mammals. The discovery could lead to the development of a technology to artificially regulate body temperature to help treat heatstroke, hypothermia and even obesity. The body temperature of humans and many other mammals is maintained at around 37°C. When the body temperature deviates significantly from the normal range, it may cause damage to body functions, leading to heat stroke, hypothermia and even death. The brain’s temperature-regulating center is located in the preoptic area, the part of the hypothalamus that controls important body functions. For example, when the preoptic area receives signals from prostaglandin E (PGE_2, produced in response to infection) mediators, this area commands increased body temperature to fight viruses, bacteria, and other disease-causing organisms. To identify which neurons in the preoptic area release the command to raise or lower body temperature, the Nagoya University research team conducted a study using rats. They first investigated how the activity of EP3 neurons in the preoptic area changed in response to changes in environmental temperature. The comfortable environment temperature for rats is about 28°C. Over two hours, the researchers exposed the rats to cold (4°C), room temperature (24°C) and heat (36°C). The results showed that exposure to 36°C activated EP3 neurons, while exposure to 4°C and 24°C did not.
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