Strategies for Hypothermia Compensation in Altricial and Precocial Newborn Mammals and Their Monitoring by Infrared Thermography
Date
2022-05-23
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Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
Thermoregulation in newborn mammals is an essential species-specific mechanism of the
nervous system that contributes to their survival during the first hours and days of their life. When
exposed to cold weather, which is a risk factor associated with mortality in neonates, pathways
such as the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) are activated to achieve temperature control,
increasing the circulating levels of catecholamine and cortisol. Consequently, alterations in blood
circulation and mechanisms to produce or to retain heat (e.g., vasoconstriction, piloerection, shivering,
brown adipocyte tissue activation, and huddling) begin to prevent hypothermia. This study aimed
to discuss the mechanisms of thermoregulation in newborn domestic mammals, highlighting the
differences between altricial and precocial species. The processes that employ brown adipocyte
tissue, shivering, thermoregulatory behaviors, and dermal vasomotor control will be analyzed to
understand the physiology and the importance of implementing techniques to promote thermoregulation
and survival in the critical post-birth period of mammals. Also, infrared thermography as
a helpful method to perform thermal measurements without animal interactions does not affect
these parameters.
Description
Publication history: Accepted - 18 May 2022; Published - 23 May 2022.
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Keywords
thermoregulation, body temperature, brown adipose tissue, neonate welfare, shivering, vasoconstriction
Citation
Lezama-García, K., Mota-Rojas, D., Martínez-Burnes, J., Villanueva-García, D., Domínguez-Oliva, A., Gómez-Prado, J., Mora-Medina, P., Casas-Alvarado, A., Olmos-Hernández, A., Soto, P. and Muns, R. (2022) ‘Strategies for Hypothermia Compensation in Altricial and Precocial Newborn Mammals and Their Monitoring by Infrared Thermography’, Veterinary Sciences. MDPI AG. doi:10.3390/vetsci9050246.