Stress-induced hyperthermia in mice: hormonal correlates.

In the stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH) paradigm in group-housed male mice, the rectal temperature of last measured mice is approximately 1.5 degrees C higher than the first measured one when the temperature of each mouse is measured sequentially with an interval of 1 min. In the present study it is demonstrated that SIH is accompanied by increases in plasma ACTH, corticosterone, and glucose levels that return to baseline more or less parallel to the temperature. The simultaneous increases in temperature and plasma stress hormones strongly support the use of the SIH paradigm in mice as an animal model to study putative anti-stress or anxiolytic properties of drugs.