The caudal periaqueductal gray participates in the activation of brown adipose tissue in rats

• Published in: Neuroscience letters Vol. 331; no. 1; pp. 17 - 20
• Main Authors: Chen, Xiao-Ming, Nishi, Maiko, Taniguchi, Aki, Nagashima, Kei, Shibata, Masaaki, Kanosue, Kazuyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 04-10-2002; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adipose Tissue, Brown - drug effects; Adipose Tissue, Brown - physiology; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Electric Stimulation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Homocysteine - administration & dosage; Homocysteine - analogs & derivatives; Homocysteine - pharmacology; Injections, Intraventricular; Male; Neural Pathways; Non-shivering thermogenesis; Periaqueductal gray; Periaqueductal Gray - physiology; Rats; Thermogenesis - physiology; Thermoregulation; Thermoregulation. Hibernation. Estivation. Ecophysiology and environmental effects; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Thermoregulation; Periaqueductal gray; Non-shivering thermogenesis; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Thermogenesis; Rat; Periaqueductal gray matter; Electrical stimulus; Rodentia; Central nervous system; Brown adipose tissue; Chemical stimulus; Brain (vertebrata)
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3940(02)00757-7

To investigate the involvement of the periaqueductal gray (PAG) in the control of non-shivering thermogenesis, we tested the effects of electrical or chemical stimulation of the PAG on thermogenesis of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in urethane anesthetized rats. Electrical stimulation (0.1 mA, 33 Hz, 0.5 ms) or application of
d,
l-homocysteic acid (0.5 mM, 0.3 μl) into the lateral region of the caudal PAG (cPAG) elicited BAT thermogenesis, measured as a rise in the local temperature of interscapular BAT. These results suggest that neurons in the cPAG send excitatory efferent signals for BAT thermogenesis.