Cold Acclimation and the Electromyogram of Unanesthetized Rats

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Abstract
Shivering measured by the electromyogram was absent in cold acclimated rats at 6°C, indicating that thermogenesis apparently was almost exclusively of the chemical type. Chemical thermogenesis alone was capable of raising metabolism of these rats within 3 minutes after transfer from 30°C to 6°C. In warm acclimated rats shivering was essentially continuous in the cold. It increased with but was not directly proportional to the fall in environmental temperature. During acclimation to 6°C, shivering decreased in magnitude and finally disappeared in about 4 weeks, but it remained continuously high at –6°C for at least 5 weeks. Restraint of cold acclimated rats in slings had the effect of increasing muscle electrical activity with bursts of shivering. Depending on the posture, electrical activity of the muscles during apparent sleep frequently but not invariably fell to almost zero. Such periods of minimum activity were more frequently observed in cold than in warm acclimated rats. Submitted on June 4, 1956

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