News in Physiological Sciences, Vol 1, 41-44, Copyright © 1986 by International Union of Physiological Sciences

ARTICLES

Keeping a Cool Head

M Cabanac

The mammalian brain has poor tolerance to increased temperature. However, when body core temperature rises during exercise or heat stress, the temperature of the brain can remain at a lower level, somewhat independent of the rest of the body. In several mammals the cooling of the brain is related to anatomically well-defined countercurrent heat exchangers. Humans lack these distinct anatomic structures, but significant cooling of the brain can nevertheless occur. Such selective cooling of the brain may have important medical implicantions.

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