Development of behavioral responses to thermal challenges

Abstract

Body temperature regulation involves the development of responses to cold and warm challenges. Matching our understanding of the development of body temperature regulation to warm challenges with that of cold challenges will enhance our understanding of the ontogeny of thermoregulation and reveal different adaptive specializations. Warm and cold thermoregulation are important processes, and they include direct thermal effects on offspring, as well as indirect effects on them, such as those imposed by thermally associated alterations of maternal behavior. The present paper is a selective review of the existing literature and a report of some new empirical data, aimed at processes of mammalian development, especially those affecting behavior. We briefly discuss the development of body temperature regulation in rats and mice, and thermal aspects of maternal behavior with emphasis on responses to high temperatures. The new data extend previous analyses of individual and group responses in developing rodents to warm and cool ambient temperatures. This literature not only reveals a variety of adaptive specializations during development, but it points to the earlier appearance in young mammals of abilities to combat heat loss, relative to protections from hyperthermia. These relative developmental delays in compensatory defenses to heating appear to render young mammals especially vulnerable to environmental warming. We describe cascading consequences of warming-effects that illustrate interactions across levels of physiological, neural, and behavioral development. K E Y W O R D Saltricial rodents, development, elevated temperatures, parent-offspring interactions, physiology, social behavior

Individual differences in early body mass affect thermogenic performance and sibling interactions in litter huddles of the house mouse

“…Sibling differences in early body mass can lead to individual differences in the way pups behave within the litter huddle . This has been intensively studied in different species of altricial mammals and birds (Alberts, 1978;Blumberg & Sokoloff, 1998;Forbes, 2005;Gilbert, McCafferty, Giroud, Ancel, & Blanc, 2012;Hill, 1983;Rödel, Hudson, & von Holst, 2008;Sokoloff & Blumberg, 2001), including the laboratory mouse (Mus musculus: Harshaw & Alberts, 2012;Harshaw, Culligan, & Alberts, 2014;Shelton & Alberts, 2018). This has been intensively studied in different species of altricial mammals and birds (Alberts, 1978;Blumberg & Sokoloff, 1998;Forbes, 2005;Gilbert, McCafferty, Giroud, Ancel, & Blanc, 2012;Hill, 1983;Rödel, Hudson, & von Holst, 2008;Sokoloff & Blumberg, 2001), including the laboratory mouse (Mus musculus: Harshaw & Alberts, 2012;Harshaw, Culligan, & Alberts, 2014;Shelton & Alberts, 2018).…”

“…Huddling together with litter siblings during early postnatal life is a highly efficient strategy of communal thermoregulation in altricial and polytocous species, helping to conserve energy essential for early growth and survival, and particularly in the absence of the mother or other care givers (Blumberg & Sokoloff, 1998;Gilbert et al, 2010). This has been intensively studied in different species of altricial mammals and birds (Alberts, 1978;Blumberg & Sokoloff, 1998;Forbes, 2005;Gilbert, McCafferty, Giroud, Ancel, & Blanc, 2012;Hill, 1983;Rödel, Hudson, & von Holst, 2008;Sokoloff & Blumberg, 2001), including the laboratory mouse (Mus musculus: Harshaw & Alberts, 2012;Harshaw, Culligan, & Alberts, 2014;Shelton & Alberts, 2018). Studies in the domestic rabbit and in the laboratory rat Rattus norvegicus have shown that pups with relatively lower birth mass typically occupy more peripheral positions in the huddle than their heavier siblings, despite showing comparatively more attempts to reach a thermally more advantageous position in the center Bautista, García-Torres, Prager, Hudson, & Rödel, 2010;Bautista, Zepeda, et al, 2015;Rödel, Bautista, et al, 2008).…”

Anatomical, physiological, and behavioral mechanisms of thermoregulation in elephants

“…Thermoregulation is a vital process to survive and maintain proper organ and cellular function (Shelton and Alberts 2018). In most mammals, core temperature oscillates around 37 °C and is mediated by a complex central neural network that responds to environmental temperature (Shelton and Alberts 2018).…”

“…Thermoregulation is a vital process to survive and maintain proper organ and cellular function (Shelton and Alberts 2018). In most mammals, core temperature oscillates around 37 °C and is mediated by a complex central neural network that responds to environmental temperature (Shelton and Alberts 2018). These mechanisms are activated with deviations from the thermoneutrality zone, defined as the environmental temperature range where metabolic heat production or evaporative heat loss do not require changes (Kingma 2012).…”

Comparison of neurotransmitter levels, physiological conditions, and emotional behavior between isolation‐housed rats with group‐housed rats

“…Social isolation is known to markedly affect brain functions, including neurogenesis in the hippocampus, expression of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor, and the activity of the monoaminergic system (Han, Wang, Shao, & Li, 2011; Ibi et al., 2008; Ma et al., 2017); however, the influence of housing environments on the levels of neurotransmitters such as dopamine (DA), serotonin (5‐HT), and noradrenaline (NA), remains obscure (Fone & Porkess, 2008). In addition, physiological indices such as core body temperature ( T core ) or locomotor activity (ACT) have been shown to be related to both neurotransmitters (Morrison & Nakamura, 2019) and emotional behavior (Grabowski et al., 2019; Shelton & Alberts, 2018). We have previously reported that a disrupted or increased T core rhythm in isolation‐housed rats affects monoamine levels in several brain areas, and anxiety‐like behavior during the open field test (OFT; Matsumura, Nakagawa, Suzuki, Ninomiya, & Ishiwata, 2015; Nakagawa, Matsumura, Suzuki, Ninomiya, & Ishiwata, 2016; Nakagawa, Matsunaga, & Ishiwata, 2020).…”