ArticleCommunications biology2026
Neither rats nor mice have a broad thermoneutral zone: implications for physiological studies.
Article in Communications biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Using thermal preference to understand mouse thermal biology.American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Article
- Immune-Induced Fever and Psychogenic Hyperthermia Can Occur Independently of Uncoupling Protein 1-Mediated Brown Adipose Tissue Thermogenesis.Acta physiologica (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Neither rats nor mice have a broad thermoneutral zone: implications for physiological studies.Communications biology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Unlike humans, small mammals dedicate considerable energy expenditure (EE) to maintaining core body temperature (Tb). We investigate the influence of ambient temperature (Ta) on energy homeostasis in single housed male mice and rats studied by indirect calorimetry and continuous Tb measurement at Ta ranging from 22 °C to 35 °C. With Tb increases at higher Ta, food intake and body weight decrease, demonstrating that the higher Tb signifies heat stress and not a benign adaptive response. Rats at 30 °C were at the edge of their thermal tolerance. Neither rats nor mice have a broad thermoneutral zone (TNZ). Rather, both have thermoneutral points (TNP), below which EE increases and above which Tb increases. In mice, the EE increase above the TNP is due to the higher Tb (van't Hoff Q
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.