The human brain is much hotter than the rest of the body (Photo: Studio Ra 2 – Fotolia.com/Flickr)
If the measurement of our body temperature exceeds 37 ° C, we already understand this as a sign that something is wrong. But this is not true for the brain. New research shows that the average temperature of this organ, when intact, is 38.5°C, with deeper brain regions often exceeding 40°C.
Led by researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Molecular Biology Laboratory in Cambridge, UK, the study produced the first 4D map of human brain temperature. The work was published in the magazine brain This Monday (13), it shows that brain temperature varies by region, age, gender, time of day, and menstrual cycle in people who menstruate.
The human brain is much hotter than the rest of the body and its temperature can reach 40 degrees Celsius (Photo: MRC Lab)
The researchers recruited 40 volunteers between the ages of 20 and 40 to examine them in the morning, afternoon, and evening for a full day. In healthy participants, the average brain temperature was 38.5 °C, two degrees warmer than the sublingual measurement.
Scientists also found that the female brain is much warmer than the male. This difference is likely due to the menstrual cycle, as most of the volunteers were examined in the post-ovulatory phase, when their brain temperature was 0.4°C higher than that of the pre-ovulatory period.
Brain temperature difference between men (bottom) and women (top) throughout the day (Photo: MRC Lab)
“For me, the most surprising finding from our study is that a healthy human brain can reach temperatures that would be diagnosed as fever elsewhere in the body,” says John O’Neill, group leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. in the current situation. “High temperatures have been measured in people with traumatic brain injury in the past, but it was assumed that they were caused by the injury.”
These findings can also be used to improve understanding, prediction, and treatment of brain disorders. “Our work also opens the door for future research into whether circadian rhythms of brain temperature can be used as an early biomarker for many chronic brain disorders, including dementia,” says Nina Rzechorzek, from the MRC Laboratory.
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