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Biomedical subjects

C A Fuller

Publications and source records attributed to C A Fuller.

97 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Spinal cord thermosensitivity and sorting of neural signals in cold-exposed rats.

In the present study, data relevant to the presence or absence of sorting of neural signals were obtained by evaluating the thermal responses to spinal warming in the chronically prepared rat. Specifically, shivering activity and the rate of oxygen consumption (VO2) were measured in unanesthetized rats during cold exposure (10-16 degrees C). Warming the spinal cord at the level of T2 resulted in a significant decrease in shivering (P less than 0.001), without a significant change in VO2. The shivering response was reversed upon cessation of heating. These results are interpreted as indicating a direct influence of spinal cord temperature on shivering but not nonshivering thermogenesis in the rat. Similarly, in previous work with the rat, we have obtained data supporting hypothalamic receptor control of nonshivering but not shivering heat production. These findings are thus consistent with the suggestion that in the rat there occurs a sorting of neural signals. That is, impulses from the three thermoreceptor locations are not integrated in an identical manner for the control of shivering and nonshivering thermogenesis.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1977

Environmental synchronizers of squirrel monkey circadian rhythms.

Various temporal signals in the environment were tested to determine if they could synchronize the circadian timing system of the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus). The influence of cycles of light and dark, eating and fasting, water availability and deprivation, warm and cool temperature, sound and quiet, and social interaction and isolation was examined on the drinking and activity rhythms of unrestrained monkeys. In the absence of other time cues, 24-h cycles of each of these potential synchronizers were applied for up to 3 wk, and the periods of the monkey's circadian rhythms were examined. Only light-dark cycles and cycles of food availability were shown to be entraining agents, since they were effective in determining the period and phase of rhythmic variables. In the presence of each of the other environmental cycles, the monkey's circadian rhythms exhibited free-running periods which were significantly different from 24 h with all possible phase relationships between the rhythms and the environmental cycles being examined.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Sorting of signals from thermosensitive areas.

Of the several models proposed for the neural regulation of temperature in cold-exposed animals, two have been previously restated in dynamic form using CSMP. Subsequently, computer simulations have led to the design and execution of experiments for selection of the more appropriate model for cold-exposed rats. These experiments, as described in the present paper, have been interpreted as being consistent with the model which sorts signals from thermosensitive areas and channels the selected signals over separate neural pathways to independently control each mode of heat production. Since this model requires multiplication of neural signals, possible neuronal mechanisms which may underline such multiplication are discussed. In addition, parameter variation to account for febril responses and rate sensitivity have been evaluated.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Shivering and nonshivering thermogenic responses of cold-exposed rats to hypothalamic warming.

The concurrent neural control of two thermoregulatory responses, shivering thermogenesis (ST) and nonshivering thermogenesis (NST), was investigated in chronically implanted cold-exposed rats. The effects of heating the preoptic/anterior hypothalamus (POAH) on shivering and on the rate of oxygen consumption (Vo2) were measured in these unanesthetized animals. With ambient temperature maintained constant (at some value between 10 and 16 degrees C), warming the hypothalamus 2-3 degrees C resulted in a significant decrease in Vo2 (Psmaller than 0.001) and an increase in shivering (Psmaller than .01), these responses being reversed on cessation of hypothalamic warming. These results are consistent with the proposal that, in the cold-exposed animal, elevated POAH temperatures directly inhibit NST even though shivering may increase (possibly as a compensation for the decrease in nonshivering heat production). They also rule out the possibility that, in the rat, signals from cutaneous and hypothalamic thermoreceptors are integrated in an indentical manner by the neural controllers for ST and NST.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Circadian rhythms and temperature homeostasis in monkeys during a flight on the Kosmos 1514 biosatellite].

In the course of a 5-day space flight of two rhesus-monkeys the following parameters were recorded at an interval of 16 min: core body temperature (Tc), skin temperature (Ts), and motor activity (MA). The telemetric Tc sensor was implanted subcutaneously in the right axilla, Ts thermistor was attached to the right ankle, and the MA piezotape was fixed to the inner side of the vest. Circadian rhythms of Tc varied with a period of 24 hours in one monkey and 25 hours in the other. The daily Tc decreased on the average by 0.5 degrees C, Ts fell immediately after launch and remained close to the lower limit throughout the flight. The Ts amplitude decreased 5-fold. Phases of the circadian rhythms of Ts changed and circadian rhythms of MA remained unchanged and equal to 24 hours.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Are ultradian and circadian rhythms in renal potassium excretion related?

Spectral and band-pass analyses of renal potassium excretion time series demonstrated the presence of significant ultradian periodicities. These rhythms and their relationships to circadian rhythms were examined under varying conditions, with and without external (LD cycle) or internal (plasma cortisol) Zeitgebers. The results showed that ultradian rhythms appear to be independent endogenous oscillations. They seem related to circadian periodicities in that they demonstrated several characteristics of subharmonic synchronization in the entrained state, and underwent detuning and amplitude diminution with the removal of controlling Zeitgebers. Ultradian rhythms play a more prominent role in the absence of strong external or internal time cues. They may be important in the formation and stabilization of circadian timekeeping or may represent some dissociated state of elements in the circadian system.

Adrenalectomy↗