Our brain stores a memory of cold that helps us generate heat

A new study has revealed that our brains can remember cold – not just the feeling, but the physical response to it. These memories help our bodies prepare for future chilly moments by adjusting how we produce heat.

This discovery is part of new research from scientists at Trinity College Dublin, who teamed up with collaborators at Princeton University.

The experts found that memories of cold experiences are stored in the brain and later used to increase metabolism. That’s how our bodies generate heat and keep us comfortable when we expect the temperature to drop.

How the brain stores cold

Memory is more than just thoughts or pictures from the past. The study builds on the idea of “engrams”- networks of brain cells that store specific memories. Recent neuroscience has shown that some engrams store physical sensations like pain, hunger, and inflammation.

This study tested whether similar memories exist for temperature. Specifically, the researchers wanted to know: Can the brain store a memory of being cold? And if so, does it use that memory to help regulate body heat later?

To find out, the team ran a clever experiment using mice. The mice were placed in an environment at 4°C (about 39°F) and shown unique visual cues.

After a few sessions, those same cues were shown again – this time at room temperature. Even though the environment was now warm, the mice began to increase their metabolism, acting as if they expected the cold to return.

Cold memory boosts heat

This reaction is known as predictive thermogenesis. It’s how the body gets ready in advance to face the cold. The researchers found that the mice weren’t just reacting instinctively – they were remembering.

“We discovered that when mice are exposed to a cold temperature, they form memories that allow them to upregulate their body’s metabolism when they anticipate cold experiences in the future,” said Dr. Andrea Muñoz Zamora, the lead author of the study.

The team then used genetic tools to find out where in the brain these cold memories were stored. They located the cold-memory engram cells in the hippocampus, a region long known for its role in memory.

When they activated these cold-memory cells using optogenetics, the mice’s metabolism increased, producing more heat. When the same cells were turned off, the mice no longer reacted to the cold cues.

Brain, fat, and body heat

What happens next is just as interesting. The body’s brown fat, which helps generate heat, seemed to play a big role in this memory-based response.

“A large part of this learned control of body temperature seems to be due to increased activity of brown adipose tissue – or brown fat – which can be controlled by innervations originating in the brain,” explained Professor Lydia Lynch, a co-author on the study.

“Our brain must learn from the bodily experiences of cold, but then feeds back to control how our fat cells respond to cold.”

This feedback loop between brain and body shows how tightly connected memory and metabolism are. It also suggests new ways to think about treatments for diseases where metabolism goes out of balance.

Healing starts in the brain

This kind of memory-based thermoregulation could have wide-reaching effects. Obesity, cancer, and other metabolic disorders all involve problems with how the body generates or uses energy.

By tapping into the brain’s memory of cold, it might be possible to train the body to respond differently.

“Numerous clinical disorders, ranging from obesity to forms of cancer, may be treated by manipulating thermoregulation through brown adipose tissue,” said Dr. Aaron Douglas, a joint lead author.

“In the future, it will be important to test whether the manipulation of cold memories in humans could provide novel avenues for altering metabolism for therapeutic purposes.”

Mind, memory, and emotion

Beyond physical health, this research hints at how basic sensations shape our emotional and social lives. If the brain stores memories of bodily states like cold, they could influence how we make decisions or interact with others.

“The sophisticated aspects of our minds evolved from more basic, visceral, bodily representations,” said Professor Tomás Ryan, who also worked on the study. “Understanding how these components of our brain affect our behavior in general is crucial to understanding our emotions and our use of memory.”

“This integrative piece of work offers a quintessential example of interdisciplinary science. Neuroscience requires collaboration and it was the synergy with Prof. Lynch that allowed the unusual combination of memory engram work with metabolism research.”

The findings suggest that even a simple experience like feeling cold leaves a lasting mark on the brain.

And in doing so, it changes how the body prepares for the future. It’s a reminder that memory isn’t just about the past – it’s also how we adapt to what lies ahead.

The full study was published in the journal Nature.

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