长期以来，体温和庞大的脑组织作为哺乳动物、鸟类等高等动物的独特特征，其相互之间的关系一直不是很清楚。
我们最近的实验和理论研究表明，体温的出现，使得脑皮层神经元在动作电位的能量消耗效率方面有数倍的提高。
这意味着，产生一个动作电位，在体温37度状态，要比在室温（16－18摄氏度）情况，节省至少3－4倍的能量。
这从一个侧面说明，体温是优化大脑脑电信号能量效率的一个非常有效的机制。

详细请见：
http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1002456

The energy efficiency of neural signal transmission is important not only as a limiting factor in brain architecture, but it also influences the interpretation of functional brain imaging signals. Action potential generation in mammalian, versus invertebrate, axons is remarkably energy efficient. Here we demonstrate that this increase in energy efficiency is due largely to a warmer body temperature. Increases in temperature result in an exponential increase in energy efficiency for single action potentials by increasing the rate of Na⁺ channel inactivation, resulting in a marked reduction in overlap of the inward Na⁺, and outward K⁺, currents and a shortening of action potential duration. This increase in single spike efficiency is, however, counterbalanced by a temperature-dependent decrease in the amplitude and duration of the spike afterhyperpolarization, resulting in a nonlinear increase in the spike firing rate, particularly at temperatures above approximately 35°C. Interestingly, the total energy cost, as measured by the multiplication of total Na⁺ entry per spike and average firing rate in response to a constant input, reaches a global minimum between 37–42°C. Our results indicate that increases in temperature result in an unexpected increase in energy efficiency, especially near normal body temperature, thus allowing the brain to utilize an energy efficient neural code.

Yuguo Yu^1,2, Adam P. Hill¹, David A. McCormick^1*

1 Department of Neurobiology and Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America, 2 Center for Computational Systems Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China