[14C]2-deoxyglucose uptake in ground squirrel brain during hibernation.

Autoradiographic patterns of [14C]2-deoxyglucose uptake are described throughout the brains of hibernating and euthermic ground squirrels. Autoradiographs of the brains of hibernating animals are generally homogeneous in comparison to euthermic animals; hence, the relative 2-deoxyglucose uptake (R2DGU) of gray to white matter for the majority of the 85 neural structures examined decreases during hibernation. Two categories of structures are identified as potentially important in hibernation: (1) structures that have the highest R2DGU during hibernation (cochlear nucleus, paratrigeminal nucleus, and superior colliculus) and (2) structures that undergo the least reduction in R2DGU in the transition from euthermia to hibernation (suprachiasmatic nucleus and lateral septal nucleus). The percentage of reduction in R2DGU that a structure undergoes in the transition from euthermia to hibernation is proportional to the R2DGU of that structure during euthermia. The suprachiasmatic, paratrigeminal, and cochlear nuclei undergo less of a reduction than would be predicted from this relationship and may be particularly important during hibernation. Sensory nuclei that receive primary afferent projections are among the structures with the highest R2DGU during hibernation. These metabolically active structures may be responsible for the sensitivity of the hibernator to environmental stimuli.