Infantile Body Temperature Loss in Rats: Effects of Duration of Cold Exposure, Rate of Heat Loss, Level of Hypothermia, and Rewarming on Later Emotionality

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Abstract
Two experiments are described which investigated the effects of several parameters of body temperature, including rate of temperature loss, duration of cold exposure, level of hypothermia, and rewarming on later emotionality. Experimental controls permitted independent assessment of the effects of manipulation or “extra-stimulation,” as well as the possible role of differential maternal response to the chilled litter. The data demonstrated that (1) the rate of body temperature loss and the duration of cold exposure are major independent variables, (2) their effect on emotionality is curvilinear, (3) response to early cold exposure is sex dependent, and (4) manipulation or “extra-stimulation” and maternal mediation are inadequate to explain the observed effects. on the basis of these findings, an underlying mechanism involving the thermoregulatory response to cold is suggested.