Summary
In adult men the left half of the head was covered with thick heat insulation, and the right hemiface was cooled by spraying a mist of water, and vigorous fanning. The subjects were immersed up to the waist in warm water (42°) to achieve hyperthermia. In control sessions the subjects were rendered slightly hypothermic by preliminary exposure to cold.
Under the hypothermic condition during right skin cooling, the right Tty remained low as compared with oesophageal temperature, while the left Tty was raised. Under the hyperthermic condition right hemiface cooling maintained not only the right Tty lower than oesophageal but also, to a lesser extent the left Tty, while the skin on the left side was close to core temperature. This latter result cannot be explained by conductive cooling from the skin to the tympanic membrane and implies a vascular cooling of the left Tty originating from the other side of the head.
It is concluded that selective cooling of the brain takes place during hyperthermia. The main mechanism is forced vascular convection, but conductive cooling also occurs.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker MA (1982) Brain cooling in endotherms in heat and exercise. Ann Rev Physiol 44:85–96
Baker MA, Hayward JN (1967) Carotid rete and brain temperature of cat. Nature (Lond) 216:139–141
Baker MA, Stocking RA, Meehan JP (1972) Thermal relationship between tympanic membrane and hypothalamus in conscious cat and monkey. J Appl Physiol 32:739–742
Benzinger TH (1959) On physical heat regulation and the sense of temperature in man. Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA) 45:645–659
Benzinger TH (1960) The sensory receptor organ and quantitative mechanism of human temperature control in warm environment. Fed Proc 19:32–41
Benzinger TH, Taylor GW (1963) Cranial measurements of internal temperature in man. In: Temperature — Its measurement and control in science and industry. Reinhold New York, pp 111–120 (part 3)
Cabanac M, Brinnel H (1985) Blood flow in the emissary veins of the human head during hyperthermia. Eur J Appl Physiol 54:172–176
Cabanac M, Caputa M (1979a) Natural selective cooling of the human brain: evidence of its occurence and magnitude. J Physiol (Lond) 286:255–264
Cabanac M, Caputa M (1979b) Open loop increase in trunk temperature produced by face cooling in working humans. J Physiol (Lond) 289:163–174
Caputa M, Cabanac M (1980) Muscular work as thermal behaviour in humans. J Appl Physiol Resp Environ Exercise Physiol 48:1020–1023
Caputa M, Kadziela W, Narebski J (1976) Significance of cranial circulation for the brain homeothermia in rabbits II The role of the cranial venous lakes in the defence against hyperthermia. Acta Neurobiol Exp 36:625–638
Caputa M, Perrin G, Cabanac M (1978) Ecoulement sanguin réversible dans la veine ophthalmique: mécanisme de refroidissement sélectif du cerveau humain. CR Séanc Acad Sci 87 D:1011–1014
Chesy G, Kadziela W, Lachowski A, Caputa M, Kozak W, Wieczor H (1981) Pyrogen fever and selective brain cooling in the ox. In: Szelenyi Z, Szekely M (eds) Contributions to thermal physiology. Pergamon Press, New York, pp 197–199
Chmielowa M, Kielczewska-Mrozikiewicz D, Skuratowics A (1980) Temperatura blony bebenkowej w niektorych schorzeniach goraczkowych. Roczn AM, Poznan, pp 157–160
Cooper KE, Cranston WI, Snell ES (1964) Temperature in the external auditory meatus as an index of central temperature changes. J Appl Physiol 19:1032–1035
Dickson JA, Mac Kenzie A, Mc Leod K (1979) Temperature gradients in pigs during whole-body hyperthermia at 42° C. J Appl Physiol 47:712–717
Gibbons LV (1967) Body temperature monitoring in the external auditory meatus. Aerospace Med 38:671–675
Greenleaf JE, Castle BL (1972) External auditory canal temperature as an estimate of core temperature. J Appl Physiol 32:194–198
Hirata K, Nagasaka T, Sugano Y (1978) Effect of alternating respiratory pathway on respiratory capacity, and tympanic and forehead skin temperatures during exercise. J Aerosp Environ Med 15:8–13
Kaufman WC (1963) Changes in internal body temperatures during severe thermal stress. Fed Proc (part I) 22:283
Kluger MJ, D'Alecy LG (1975) Brain temperature during reversible upper respiratory bypass. J Appl Physiol 38:268–271
Livingstone SD, Grayson J, Frim J, Allen CL, Limmer RE (1983) Effect of cold exposure on various sites of core temperature measurements. J Appl Physiol 54:1025–1031
Magilton JH, Swift CS (1969) Response of veins draining the nose to alar-fold temperature changes in the dog. J Appl Physiol 27:18–21
Marcus P (1973) Some effects of cooling and heating areas of the head and neck on body temperature measurement at the ear. Aerospace Med 44:397–402
Mc Caffrey TV, Geis GS, Chung JM, Wuster RD (1975a) Effect of isolated head heating and cooling on sweating in man. Aviat Space Environ Med 46:1353–1357
Mc Caffrey TV, Mc Cook RD, Wurster RD (1975b) Effect of head skin temperature on tympanic and oral temperature in man. J Appl Physiol 39:114–118
Nadel ER, Horvath SM (1970) Comparison of tympanic membrane and deep body temperatures in man. Life Sci 9:869–875
Narebski J (1985) Human brain homeothermy during sleep and wakefulness: an experimental and comparative approach. Acta Neurobiol Exp 45:63–75
Nielsen B, Nielsen M (1965) On the regulation of sweat secretion in exercise. Acta Physiol Scand 64:314–322
Shiraki K, Konda N, Sagawa S (1986) Esophageal and tympanic temperature responses to core blood temperature changes during hyperthermia. J Appl Physiol 61:98–102
Taylor CR, Lyman CP (1972) Heat storage in running antilopes: independance of brain and body temperatures. Am J Physiol 222:114–117
Werner J, Reents T (1980) A contribution to the topography of temperature regulation in man. Eur J Appl Physiol 45:87–94
Werner J, Heising M, Rautenberg W, Leimann K (1985) Dynamics and topography of human temperature regulation in response to thermal work load. Eur J Appl Physiol 53:353–358
Windquist R, Bevan JA (1980) Temperature sensitivity of tone in the rabbit facial vein: myogenic mechanism for cranial thermoregulation? Science 207:1001–1002
Wurster R (1968) Beeinflussung der Trommelfell- und Mundtemperatur durch Änderung der Kopfhauttemperatur. Pflügers Arch 300: R.47
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cabanac, M., Germain, M. & Brinnel, H. Tympanic temperatures during hemiface cooling. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 56, 534–539 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00635366
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00635366