Molecular mechanisms linking emotion and body temperature

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K14558
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Neurophysiology / General neuroscience
• Research Institution: Kansai Medical University
• Principal Investigator: KOBAYAKAWA Reiko 関西医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (40372411)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 情動

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Fear is a powerful emotion that induces avoidance and defensive behaviors from the danger essential for survival. It has been suggested that both innate and learned mechanisms elicit fear emotions and that different neural mechanisms elicit innate and learned fear behaviors; however, the differences in their physiological responses and control mechanisms remain unclear. We have developed a series of odorants that induce potent innate fear emotion in mice. Using these odors, we showed that learned fear induces increases in body temperature and heart rate, while innate fear induces hypothermia and bradycardia, which are opposite physiological responses, indicating that the two are different emotional states.

Free Research Field

神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

後天的恐怖がいわゆる闘争逃走反応に必要な体温および心拍数の上昇を引き起こすことは知られていたが、本研究により強力な先天的恐怖が体温低下と心拍数の顕著な低下を引き起こすことが示された。また、先天的恐怖刺激を長時間作用させることでtorporのような低体温状態を引き起こせるものの、先天的恐怖と冬眠/torporによる低体温誘発メカニズムは異なることが示唆されたことから、今後先天的恐怖の低体温誘発メカニズムを明らかにすることで、新たな温度制御メカニズムや生理学的意義が明らかにされることが期待される。