生物化学与免疫学院Toms J. Ryan团队取得一项新突破。他们揭示了冷记忆控制着全身的体温调节反应。这一研究成果于2025年4月23日发表在国际顶尖学术期刊《自然》上。

在这里，该课题组人员通过训练小鼠记住热挑战来研究记忆是否可以控制全身代谢。通过将温度调节巴甫洛夫条件反射与印迹标记技术、光遗传学和化学遗传学相结合，使小鼠习惯于将环境与特定温度联系起来。课题组研究人员报告说，如果把老鼠放回到它们以前经历过4无论实际环境温度如何，它们都会增加代谢率。

此外，该团队还发现，当小鼠暴露在寒冷环境中时，下丘脑的活动增加，并且在回忆寒冷记忆时，海马区和下丘脑之间出现了一个特定的网络。海马体中冷敏感记忆印记的自然恢复和人工重新激活都模拟了在寒冷挑战中看到的生理反应。这些集合对于冷记忆检索是必需的。这些发现表明，冷记忆的检索可以引起全身自主和行为反应，使小鼠能够维持热稳态。

据悉，环境热挑战触发大脑协调自主和行为反应，以保持最佳体温。目前尚不清楚温度信息是如何在大脑中精确存储和检索的，以及它是如何转化为生理反应的。

附：英文原文

Title: Cold memories control whole-body thermoregulatory responses

Author: Muoz Zamora, Andrea, Douglas, Aaron, Conway, Paul B., Urrieta, Esteban, Moniz, Taylor, OLeary, James D., Marks, Lydia, Denny, Christine A., Ortega-de San Luis, Clara, Lynch, Lydia, Ryan, Toms J.

Issue&Volume: 2025-04-23

Abstract: Environmental thermal challenges trigger the brain to coordinate both autonomic and behavioural responses to maintain optimal body temperature1,2,3,4. It is unknown how temperature information is precisely stored and retrieved in the brain and how it is converted into a physiological response. Here we investigated whether memories could control whole-body metabolism by training mice to remember a thermal challenge. Mice were conditioned to associate a context with a specific temperature by combining thermoregulatory Pavlovian conditioning with engram-labelling technology, optogenetics and chemogenetics. We report that if mice are returned to an environment in which they previously experienced a 4°C cold challenge, they increase their metabolic rates regardless of the actual environmental temperature. Furthermore, we show that mice have increased hypothalamic activity when they are exposed to the cold, and that a specific network emerges between the hippocampus and the hypothalamus during the recall of a cold memory. Both natural retrieval and artificial reactivation of cold-sensitive memory engrams in the hippocampus mimic the physiological responses that are seen during a cold challenge. These ensembles are necessary for cold-memory retrieval. These findings show that retrieval of a cold memory causes whole-body autonomic and behavioural responses that enable mice to maintain thermal homeostasis.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08902-6

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08902-6