The purpose of this project is to (1) investigate age-related changes in thermo- regulation and (2) examine physiological mechanisms underlying these changes. Aged mice have diminished cold tolerance and are not able to adapt to repeated cold exposure. Recent research has shown that the central (sympathetic nervous system) component of responses to cold was intact or even enhanced in aged mice. This project investigates the extent to which deficits in mechanisms of heat production in brown adipose tissue are responsible for age-related deterioration in thermoregulation.
