As a result of the inefficiency of metabolic transfer, >75% of the energy that is generated by skeletal muscle substrate oxidation is liberated as heat. During exercise, several powerful physiological mechanisms of heat loss are activated to prevent an excessive rise in body core temperature. However, a hot and humid environment can significantly add to the challenge that physical exercise imposes on the human thermoregulatory system, as heat exchange between body and environment is substantially impaired under these conditions. This can lead to serious performance decrements and an increased risk of developing heat illness. Fortunately, there are a number of strategies that athletes can use to prevent and/or reduce the dangers that are associated with exercise in the heat. In this regard, heat acclimatisation and nutritional intervention seem to be most effective. During heat acclimatisation, the temperature thresholds for both cutaneous vasodilation and the onset of sweating are lowered, which, in combination with plasma volume expansion, improve cardiovascular stability. Effective nutritional interventions include the optimisation of hydration status by the use of fluid replacement beverages. The latter should contain moderate amounts of glucose and sodium, which improve both water absorption and retention.

/pdf/thermoregulation-during-exercise-in-the-heat-strategies-for-cmoexehm5a.pdf

Thermoregulation during exercise in the heat: strategies for maintaining health and performance

The thermal dependence of biochemical reaction rates means that many animals regulate their body temperature so that fluctuations in body temperature are small compared to environmental temperature fluctuations. Thermoregulation is a complex process that involves sensing of the environment, and subsequent processing of the environmental information. We suggest that the physiological mechanisms that facilitate thermoregulation transcend phylogenetic boundaries. Reptiles are primarily used as model organisms for ecological and evolutionary research and, unlike in mammals, the physiological basis of many aspects in thermoregulation remains obscure. Here, we review recent research on regulation of body temperature, thermoreception, body temperature set-points, and cardiovascular control of heating and cooling in reptiles. The aim of this review is to place physiological thermoregulation of reptiles in a wider phylogenetic context. Future research on reptilian thermoregulation should focus on the pathways that connect peripheral sensing to central processing which will ultimately lead to the thermoregulatory response.

Physiological mechanisms of thermoregulation in reptiles: a review.

The set point has been used to define the regulated level of body temperature, suggesting that displacements of core temperature from the set point initiate heat production (HP) and heat loss (HL) responses. Human and animal experiments have demonstrated that the responses of sweating and shivering do not coincide at a set point but rather establish a thermoeffector threshold zone. Neurophysiological studies have demonstrated that the sensor-to-effector pathways for HP and HL overlap and, in fact, mutually inhibit each other. This reciprocal inhibition theory, presumably reflecting the manner in which thermal factors contribute to homeothermy in humans, does not incorporate the effect of nonthermal factors on temperature regulation. The present review examines the actions of these nonthermal factors within the context of neuronal models of temperature regulation, suggesting that examination of these factors may provide further insights into the nature of temperature regulation. It is concluded that, although there is no evidence to doubt the existence of the HP and HL pathways reciprocally inhibiting one another, it appears that such a mechanism is of little consequence when comparing the effects of nonthermal factors on the thermoregulatory system, since most of these factors seem to exert their influence in the region after the reciprocal cross-inhibition. At any given moment, both thermal and several nonthermal factors will be acting on the thermoregulatory system. It may, therefore, not be appropriate to dismiss the contribution of either when discussing the regulation of body temperature in humans.

Contribution of thermal and nonthermal factors to the regulation of body temperature in humans

Yawning and thermoregulation

We conducted two experiments that implicate yawning as a thermoregulatory mechanism. The first experiment demonstrates that different patterns of breathing influence susceptibility to contagious yawning. When participants were not directed how to breathe or were instructed to breathe orally (inhaling and exhaling through their mouth), the incidence of contagious yawning in response to seeing videotapes of people yawning was about 48%. When instructed to breathe nasally (inhaling and exhaling through their nose), no participants exhibited contagious yawning. In a second experiment, applying temperature packs to the forehead also influenced the incidence of contagious yawning. When participants held a warm pack (46 0 C) or a pack at room temperature to their forehead while watching people yawn, contagious yawning occurred 41% of the time. When participants held a cold pack (4 0 C) to their forehead, contagious yawning dropped to 9%. These findings suggest that yawning has an adaptive/functional component that it is not merely the derivative of selection for other forms of behavior.

/pdf/yawning-as-a-brain-cooling-mechanism-nasal-breathing-and-197oczw78l.pdf

Yawning as a Brain Cooling Mechanism: Nasal Breathing and Forehead Cooling Diminish the Incidence of Contagious Yawning

In this paper, selected historical aspects of thermoregulation and fever are presented as background to the application of molecular biology to thermoregulation. Temperature-sensing mechanisms, coordination of thermal information, thermoregulatory circuitry, efferent responses to thermal stimuli, set point mechanisms, and some of the mechanisms and consequences of fever and hyperthermia are highlighted. Neurotransmitters used in thermoregulatory circuits are also discussed. An attempt is made to include information from comparative physiological sources. Possible future avenues of research in the light of recent new technologies are also presented.

Some historical perspectives on thermoregulation.

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Some historical perspectives on thermoregulation.