Are black-box models of thermoregulatory control obsolete? The importance of borrowed knowledge.

Black-box models of thermoregulatory control have gained increasing importance in describing the properties of the biological thermostat and in devising working hypotheses for further experimental analysis. Incorporation of knowledge acquired independently from the systems analysis approach into black-box models of thermoregulation has proven useful in improving their predictive ability. The pieces of "borrowed knowledge" from independent analysis which are currently utilized in devising models of homeothermic thermoregulation comprise: the proportional control property of the biological thermostat, the Sherringtonian principles of synaptic interaction, the multiple input control of thermoregulatory effectors with differential input-effector coupling, the lack of significant thermosensory contribution from the hypothalamus in birds, the existence of warm and cold receptors and the thermal characteristics of their responses, and the Q10-type temperature dependence of temperature signal transmission within the central nervous system. Consideration of these pieces of borrowed knowledge has resulted in black-box models of temperature regulation in which explicit set-point terms are avoided.