Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by WATANABE, C.
Right arrow Articles by ZIRIAX, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by WATANABE, C.
Right arrow Articles by ZIRIAX, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 1990 Oxford University Press

other

Modification by Nickel of Instrumental Thermoregulatory Behavior in Rats1

CHIHO WATANABE*,2, BERNARD WEISS{dagger},{ddagger},3, CHRISTOPHER COX{dagger},§ and JOHN ZIRIAX{dagger},{ddagger}

*Department of Human Ecology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo Tokyo, Japan {dagger}Environmental Health Sciences Center, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Rochester, New York 14642 {ddagger}Department of Biophysics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Rochester, New York 14642 §Division of Biostatistics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Rochester, New York 14642

Received June 29, 1989; accepted December 1, 1989

Modification by Nickel of Instrumental Thermoregulatory Behavior in Rats. WATANABE, C, WEISS, B., COX, C, AND ZIRIAX, J. (1990). Fundam. Appl. Toxicol. 14, 578–588. The effects of NiCl2 on the colonic temperature and thermoregulatory behavior (TRB) of rats were examined. TRB was evaluated in an instrumental (operant) setting in which rats were required to press a lever to obtain convectional heat (SEEK) or to avoid heat (ESCAPE). Orthogonal polynomial regression was used to describe the response patterns in both the SEEK and ESCAPE situations. Two milligrams per kilogram of Ni (ip) caused rapid, transient hypothermia at an ambient temperature of 21°C. When given access to heat reinforcement, rats responded for heat at a lower rate immediately after 2 or 5 mg/kg of Ni (up to 5–15 min) than after saline. Subsequently, response rates rose 30 min or more after Ni injection. A converse pattern was found with the heat escape situation. These observations, confirmed by two contrasting procedures, indicate that the changes were thermoregulatory in nature and cannot be explained by nonspecific sup-pressive or excitatory effects of Ni. They further suggest that Ni-induced hypothermia results from an altered body temperature set point. The subsequent reversal in behavior probably arises from a direct action of Ni on autonomic effector mechanisms. The origin and biological significance of these findings require further investigation. Physical requirements and response topography are discussed as critical variables in the interpretation of experiments requiring similar responses under different ambient temperatures.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.