Social defeat stress‐induced hyperthermia involves non‐shivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue

Abstract

Psychological stress‐induced hyperthermia is a fundamental autonomic response in mammals. However, it is controversial whether this stress response involves sympathetic thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT). We have previously reported that systemic blockade of β3‐adrenoreceptors, a major adrenoreceptor subtype in BAT, reduces hyperthermic response evoked by social defeat stress, a psychological stress model and that this stress activates medullary raphe sympathetic premotor neurons that are known to control BAT thermogenesis for cold defense and fever (Eur. J. Neurosci. 34:1442–1452, 2011). To further examine the involvement of BAT thermogenesis in psychological stress‐induced hyperthermia, here, we directly measured changes in both interscapular BAT temperature and abdominal temperature of rats using a telemetry system. Rats that received social defeat stress exhibited an immediate increase in BAT temperature and also a delayed elevation of abdominal temperature. This result provides direct evidence that non‐shivering BAT thermogenesis contributes to hyperthermic response to social defeat stress, a model close to stress in human society.