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An international team of scientists has shown that the brain can store memories of cold and use them to anticipate and regulate body temperature, opening potential therapeutic pathways for treating metabolic disorders such as obesity.
The brain not only stores memories of cold experiences, but also uses those memories to regulate how the body produces heat. That’s what a team of researchers, led by Professor Tomás Ryan from Trinity College Dublin, proposes in a study published in the journal Nature. The findings suggest that cold memories stored in the brain have a direct impact on thermogenesis—the process by which the body generates heat to maintain a constant temperature.
For more than fifteen years, neuroscientists have studied how engrams—physical or chemical modifications in neurons—enable the formation of memories in the brain. These engrams have been identified in previous studies related to memories of fear, pleasure, pain, and even skills for navigating a maze. However, the current research marks the first time it has been shown that the brain is also capable of storing memories related to cold experiences.
The ability to store memories of cold is essential for the body's thermal regulation, especially in environments where temperatures can fluctuate constantly. The brain needs to detect—or even predict—when cold is coming, in order to send signals that help maintain the body’s temperature at 37°C, a vital task for overall well-being. When exposed to cold, the brain instructs the body to burn brown adipose tissue, a type of fat specialized in generating heat.
The study focused on demonstrating that the brain uses memories of past experiences to regulate body temperature. To do this, scientists trained mice to associate a temperature of 4°C with specific visual cues. After several days, the same visual stimuli were presented to the mice in a room-temperature environment, without any cold exposure. Despite the warm conditions, the mice began to increase their metabolism, anticipating the arrival of cold—indicating that the brain had indeed formed memories linked to those visual cues. Using optogenetics, a technique that allows researchers to control neuron activity with light, the scientists artificially activated cold-related engrams in the mice’s hippocampus, triggering heat production even without cold exposure. This reinforced the idea that the brain not only stores memories of cold, but that these memories can activate physiological processes that help maintain body temperature.
The human body constantly forms memories and makes predictions about the world based on beliefs and experiences. This predictive process not only influences our perception of the environment but also the regulation of essential biological functions. Researchers suggest that this mechanism could have therapeutic applications in treating various diseases. For instance, metabolic disorders such as obesity or certain types of cancer could benefit from manipulating thermoregulation, specifically by controlling the activity of brown adipose tissue.
As research deepens into the mechanisms linking memory and bodily regulation, innovative approaches may emerge that allow the body to respond differently to various medical conditions.