I know the human brain stays at a near constant temperature regardless of outside temperature. If it drops too far below, it probably means you're dead.

But what about creatures living at the bottom of the ocean? Say, at the bottom of one of the trenches which are around 2.3 °C.

If those creatures were acclimated slowly to a higher temperature environment, would there be an increased level of brain activity in them?

Thanks in advance.

---Ben.

Hi Ben, assuming a survivable temperature that doesn't denature vital protiens the short answer is yes.

It's why reptiles sun themselves before hunting. It doesn't make them more intelligent, just lets them use what they have more effectively. They also digest better and have a better immune response. You go colder in response to competitive pressure.

Something a little more common, and talked about a lot on fish forums is keeping goldfish in tropical aquariums. Which tend to run about 20F (~13C)warmer than most of their native waters.

Some people advocate the position that its wrong because it "shortens their lifespans".

I maintain that it accelerates their lifecycle and because there is no winter dormancy period the fish don't notice.

Its like saying its different living to a hundred but hibernating three months out of every year than living to 75 without hibernating. Oh, oh, oh, 100 is a bigger number so it must be better.

In this case I argued that its only important in the case of living decorative property. Not a moral issue of animal abuse like some people were touting.

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Gimme a minute to read through Jay's latest observations...

And you want to explore a chemistry term "energy of activation" as aplicable to exothermic biological systems.

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Gimme a minute to read through Jay's latest observations...

Fascinating. Thank you very much.

But does the actual capacity for electrical activity in the brain increase with higher temperature? The heart, and hence the lungs and other organs, seem to. A fish in an ice-covered pond will slow down its metabolism, heart, and other organs to the point that it might even appear dead. Because of this, the brain would be getting less oxygen, and therefore the electrical activity of the fishes brain would be reduced, wouldn't it? And then, come summer and the warming of the pond, the heart and other organs would speed up, thus increasing electrical activity in the brain. This is just my thoughts - I'm not sure if its right.

If it is right, I'm not sure it would apply to creatures that are already adapted to thriving in very cold temperatures - like the fish and crustaceans that live at the bottom of the ocean trenches. One would think that their heart rate (if applicable) would increase at a higher temperature and thus create higher brain activity, but if I knew for sure I would not have posted here, haha.

Thanks again for your reply.

---Ben.

I never saw a lot of fast-moving ants during winter. But during the hottest parts of a summer day they certainly darted about.

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I am Mugs, of the Alien clan of Usa, Nordamerica, a Terran, of Sol. Human.

Whoever says "perception is reality" is daft. It's merely an abstraction, and often not a very good one.

Generally, all chemical reactions occur faster at higher temperatures and slower at lower ones. It's not a matter of capacity; it's one of speed.

In humans (and I think all mammals), nerve activity starts shutting down if the nerves drop below 10C (50F). This is why your fingers go numb on a cold day if you don't wear gloves. This is a function of the electro-chemical reactions on the cell membranes of the nerve fibers.

I would imagine that some fish and other cold-water vertebrates might have different structures in the nerves that allow them to operate at freezing temperatures.

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Keeper of the Jabberwock