Mouse study links temperature preferences to testosterone — Live Science

A study in mice found that females, on average, chose warmer surfaces than males, and that testosterone and receptor proteins in the skin’s nerve endings may influence this difference. The work, published on October 28 in the Journal of Physiology, is described by Live Science . Differences in temperature choice In the experiment, 30 male and 27 female mice could move between two adjacent plates.

One was kept at 33°C, while the temperature of the other was varied. A camera recorded how much time the animals spent on each surface. When the second plate was colder, mice of both sexes more often stayed on the 33°C surface.

However, when the second plate was at 38°C, females spent significantly more time on the warmer surface than males. The average chosen surface temperature was about 32°C for males and 36°C for females. The researchers also measured the animals’ internal body temperature and skin temperature and found no significant differences between males and females in these indicators.

Since the top of the cage was open, the authors linked surface choice specifically to skin sensations rather than air temperature. More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram . Effects of the hormone and receptors The scientists genetically removed a heat-responsive protein in mice.

In males, this reduced avoidance of the warmer surface, and their preferred temperature rose to about 35°C, closer to the level observed in females. In females, removing or blocking this protein had no noticeable effect. Blocking a cool-sensing receptor weakened avoidance of cold plates in animals of both sexes.

At the same time, females spent less time on warm surfaces, while males’ preference for them did not change. After testosterone production was blocked, males began, several weeks later, to stay more often on the 38°C surface. Females given testosterone lost their pronounced preference for warmer temperatures.

Estrogen and progesterone did not change males’ temperature preferences, nor did blocking these hormones in females. The authors noted that testosterone does not fully explain the difference and that the mechanism of its effect on sensory proteins still requires study. No human experiments were conducted as part of this work.

At the same time, the authors indicated that humans also have similar sensory proteins.