Control of non-shivering thermogenesis in a hibernator.

Abstract

Present experiments indicate that in hedgehogs two different control mechanisms of non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) exist. During arousal from hibernation catecholamines control heat production in the interscapular brown adipose tissue. In a non-hibernating state, cold-induced NST is controlled by a desoxycorticosterone-like acting compound. The effector system of this second mode of NST is obviously not the interscapular brown fat but a layer of brown adipose tissue which covers the whole back of the hedgehog.