Mechanisms Of Spontaneous Firings Of Acutely Dissociated Neurons In Rat Hypothalamus

BACKGROUNDMechanism of cellular temperature sensation has been a focus in environmental life science researches. Recent efforts have been put on the molecular temperature sensation and its regulation and quite a few aspects were included, such as potassium channels, transient potential receptor channels, amino acid receptors (like glutamic acid receptors and Y -aminobutyric acid receptors), endogenetic opium like receptors, ATP receptors and so on. These molecules are mainly involved in the regulations of the amplitudes and frequencies of cell spikes so as to coordinate appropriately the dynamic balance between peripheral heat production and elimination. However, researches on these molecules have just started and many uncertainties and unknown molecules might be hiding in the fog.When taking the issue of temperature sensation, hypothalamus, especially the preoptic and anterior hypothalamus (PO/AH), is always in top priority because various kind of neurons in it participate in multiple body activities like temperature regulations, drinking and eating, day-night rhythm formation, etc, among which the function of temperature sensation and regulation has been mostly emphasized and recognized. Dating back to more than one century ago, scientists had confirmed the importance of hypothalamus as a neuronal unit of temperature sensation and regulation by lesions or stimulations on animal hypothalamus. They thought hypothalamus could roughly sense the variation of core temperature and subsequently...