Central circuits in control of energy expenditure: connecting energy and temperature homeostasis.

Authors

Clint Kinney, Laura Kaiser, Christopher D Morrison, Hans-Rudolf Berthoud, Heike Münzberg

Published in

Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology. Jul 27, 2026. Epub Jul 27, 2026.

Abstract

Energy expenditure (EE) is the dynamic physiological process that balances energy intake to maintain body weight and body temperature. Environmental changes induce EE adaptations that limit fluctuations in body weight or body temperature by balancing between body temperature defense and energy conservation. The central nervous system (CNS) orchestrates these adaptations by integrating multiple external and internal cues to coordinate thermogenesis together with other behavioral and metabolic processes. Key hypothalamic and brainstem nuclei form a distributed network that modulates autonomic output to peripheral organs, including sympathetic tone to brown and white adipose tissues. Here, we review known neural circuits and neurotransmitter systems, their integration with sensory pathways and functionally opposing output discrepancies that reveal knowledge gaps how the CNS switches between body temperature defense and energy preservation.

PMID:
42507111
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 27 Jul 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.