AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 241, Issue 1 17-R20, Copyright © 1981 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Temperature dependence of rat circadian pacemaker

F. P. Gibbs

Blind female rats were maintained in running-wheel cages in a 12-h light-dark cycle. Hypothermia was induced by ether anesthesia, wetting of the fur by ethanol, and covering with ice. Rats were put in restraining cages and colonic temperatures were maintained between 20 and 32 degrees C for 3-16 h by cooling with ice and water. On recovery from hypothermia, the rats were replaced in their home wheels. Examination of the activity records showed significant phase delays associated with temperatures lower than 28 degrees C. At 20 degrees C, the phase delays indicated that the clock was running at about 64% normal speed giving a mean Q10 of 1.33, which is quite a bit higher than previously reported. It is speculated that, because the rat maintains its body temperature within narrow limits after the neonatal stage, it has lost the precise temperature compensation for the period of its biological clock that has been so well documented in other organisms.

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