Abstract
Spontaneous running in a wheel has emerged as a useful method of exercise in rodents. We investigated how exercise training with a running wheel affects ambient temperatures (T a) at the onset of thermoregulatory responses in rats. Female rats were allowed to run freely in the wheel for 6 months. Sedentary control rats did not exercise during the same period. After the exercise training period, they were loosely restrained and T a values at the onset of tail skin vasodilation and cold- induced thermogenesis were determined by raising or lowering T a. Resting levels of core temperature and heat production of the exercise-trained rats were significantly higher than those of the controls. T a values at the onset of tail skin vasodilation and cold-induced thermogenesis of the exercise-trained rats were higher than those of the controls. The results suggest that, in rats, exercise training with a running wheel elevates ambient temperatures for heat loss and heat production, which may then contribute to maintaining the core temperature at a high level.
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Received: 20 August 1999 / Revised: 22 November 1999 / Accepted: 24 November 1999
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Sugimoto, N., Sakurada, S. & Shido, O. Changes in ambient temperature at the onset of thermoregulatory responses in exercise-trained rats. Int J Biometeorol 43, 169–171 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s004840050004
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s004840050004