Book Reviews

As originally printed in The Physiologist, 
August 2001, Volume 44, Number 4 
Page 209

The Hot Brain
Animal Experimentation: A Guide to the Issues

The Hot Brain. 
Survival, Temperature, and the Human Body
Carl V. Gisolfi and Francisco Mora 
Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2000, 272 pp., illus., index, $45.00.
ISBN 0-262-07198-3

    This interesting book argues that the brain and homeothermy evolved together in a continuum over geologic time in response to selective environmental, particularly thermal, pressures. Thus, according to this view, this development initially involved only behavioral thermoregulatory adjustments (ectothermy), then later was gradually augmented by autonomic, i.e., thermogenic (tachymetabolic), mechanisms, thereby eventually culminating, in birds and mammals, in endothermy. These events were accompanied by the organization of increasingly complex sensorymotor circuits and integrative processes in the brain such that, ultimately, the body’s functions came to depend, for optimal performance, on a thermally stable, warm core, managed by a “hot” brain. To quote the authors (Chap. 10), “the brain is the body” and thermoregulation serves to keep it “hot.” This concept is not entirely new, but it is presented in this book in a more coherent and thorough argument than heretofore.
    Thus, this book is neither a textbook nor a review, but a thesis based on data from multiple sources, assembled to validate the authors’ proposition. It is organized in a logically sequenced series of 10, essentially self-contained chapters, each addressing a particular aspect of the authors’ argument. The first two chapters present the case from the perspective of the evolutionary origin of species, the phylogenic, ontogenic, and comparative aspects of thermoregulation. These chapters are the most speculative in the book because the supporting data are sparse. Yet, by the same token, they are also the most provocative and interesting, because the reader is often moved to ponder whether the “facts” presented would lead one to the same assertions as the authors’ and whether there may exist other “facts” that would further support or, on the contrary, refute their viewpoints. Chapter 3 continues with the phylogenic development of thermoregulation but with the focus on the evolving brain. Better established data and well-documented comparative models are used to bolster the authors’ case. The following six chapters describe broadly accepted findings to further support the authors’ thesis. Examples of thermoregulatory mechanisms under various conditions are used; their substance is not controversial, but their coverage is necessarily brief. There are a few instances when a mental rejoinder is elicited about one particular interpretation or conclusion, but these are not consequential. There are also a very few, very minor errors of fact, but unimportant in the overall context of the book. Only one very familiar with the material might detect them, and in any case they do not detract from the authors’ premise. Among the topics in these latter six chapters, various, still perplexing issues are discussed, e.g., why is the body temperature of mammals regulated at circa 37°C instead of at any other level, were the dinosaurs “warm-blooded,” does the “hot” brain of humans protect itself against overheating, does sleep serve to “cool” the brain, why is a febrile rise in body temperature a defensive mechanism whereas a hyperthermic rise is deleterious. Newer, emerging research topics are also considered, e.g., the role of heat shock proteins in thermotolerance and acclimatization, molecular and cellular mechanisms of thermal adaptation, the possible involvement of cytokines in the pathogenesis of heat stroke, the physiological problems associated with exercise in the heat, and other subjects. The last chapter recapitulates the principal arguments of the authors’ thesis, integrates them with other hypotheses on the evolutionary continuum of brain-thermoregulation, and finally summarizes the authors’ own integrative perspective.
    The book is fairly easy to read, but some knowledge of the vocabulary and the basic concepts of zoology and physiology is helpful. It is, however, not directed to specialists but rather to paraphrase the authors’ statements in their Preface, to both scientists and nonscientists, including students, interested in learning how animals evolved, adapting over the eons to survive the stressful conditions of their physical environment. The text is abundantly illustrated with figures and tables from the original literature modified only to make their format relatively uniform throughout the book. Thus, they are like figures in a paper, helpful and necessary, but a bit dull—i.e., the art is not very catchy. The bibliography is ample without being exhaustive, and there is a good index to both terms and authors cited in the text. The perspective of the book is mechanistic, not anecdotal, and well grounded in data. It makes for a very nice, leisure-time read. But portions of it can readily be extracted as bases for graduate courses or for other didactic purposes. 

Clark M. Blatteis
University of Tennessee 

Animal Experimentation: A Guide to the Issues
Vaughan Monamy
New York: Cambridge Univ., 2000, 110 pp., index, $15.95.
ISBN: 0-521-66786-0

    On page 1, Monamy states that “At some stage, all [life science] students will have to make a personal decision about the extent to which they are prepared to use research animals,” and then argues that “...decisions as serious as this ought to be taken only after informed discussion about major issues in animal experimentation.” After reading his book, I must agree and furthermore believe that this is a “must-read” for any student or scientist involved in animal experimentation at any level.
    I am a cardiovascular physiologist who has always worked with either rat or dog experimental models, both acute and chronic, and have a heightened awareness of, and perhaps sensitivity to, the forces aligned against animal research. Thus, I must admit that I began this review with red pen in hand, suspecting it to be animal rights propaganda couched as a balanced discussion of animal experimentation. In fact, my first note in the margin was that the introductory quotes by Henry Beston and Miriam Rothschild “set a tone for anti-animal use.” However, I soon developed an objective understanding of Monamy’s presentation and agreement with his goals. On the other hand, I also found myself going back and forth between these sentiments for some time, believing at the beginning of each seemingly anti-research passage that I had caught him revealing his true intentions....only to be dissuaded by my continued reading. My advice to readers of this book, therefore, is to keep reading. Although some parts of the book may lean more towards the anti-vivisectionist viewpoint, the overall presentation stays true to his goal, and I am left believing that each animal researcher should be more attuned to the anti-vivisectionist arguments than is perhaps comfortable. The aforementioned quotes take on new meaning when considered from the perspective intended by Monamy.
    Chapter 1 of his guide describes the dilemma at hand, illustrating the continuum between viewpoints that A) no animal experimentation will ever be considered essential, and B) that scientific research should proceed unhindered by what may be interpreted as ignorant or sentimental. In describing the different viewpoints, Monamy also states that the opposition to animal research no longer follows the form “all experiments must cease,” but, rather, focuses on issues such as what constitutes an essential experiment and what conduct is appropriate when conducting animal studies. I disagree with this point as a generalization, because many groups clearly want to eliminate all animal experimentation. However, he also discusses why, wherever one falls along the continuum, one cannot ignore the medical advances that have resulted from animal studies, and he also indicates it is unfair and incorrect to state that western scientists engaged in animal research are not aware of their responsibilities nor respectful of their experimental subjects. The tone is set that the book is intended to provide the reader with information that spans the continuum so that he or she will be “in a better position to consider their responses to the complexities inherent in any discussion of animal experimentation.
    The next two chapters provide an informative history of vivisection, as he describes how the opposition to animal research developed and became organized. I think most of this section provides the reader with a good sense for how both proponents and opponents wrestled with the issue of vivisection in the early days of animal use in science. However, near the end of Chapter 3, in describing several recent incidents such as the Silver Spring monkeys, the presentation turns very one-sided by noting that findings in these instances revealed evidence of mistreatment and lack of regard for the animals’ welfare. This is portrayed as somewhat of a springboard for the recent rise in animal welfare awareness and interest by moral philosophers such as Peter Singer, but it is unfair to equate what certain individuals perceive as being mistreatment based on selective media coverage with what the true story may be when all details of an incident are analyzed objectively. Nonetheless, this section is educational and certainly gives the reader an appreciation for why the anti-vivisectionist movement began.
    Chapter 4 is the centerpiece of the book in my opinion. It is here that Monamy lays out the range of moral arguments that most would consider pro-animal rights or anti-vivisectionist. He provides counter-arguments as well, and my only criticism is that his presentation of the “debates” between the moral philosophers and their critics usually gives the last word to the former. However, Monamy truly appears to be working diligently in this chapter to weave these various philosophies into a workable solution, a common ethic which all parties can agree upon that condones justifiable animal research. He appears ultimately to take issue with inconsistencies inherent in the writings of Singer, and others such as Tom Regan, and become frustrated by arguments about where in the phylogenetic tree one makes the “cutoff” for what animals, or what life, deserves special consideration. I believe he then presents the position of Albert Schweitzer, “reverence for life,” as a more workable ethic. He rebuts criticisms that this is too simplistic and illustrates how this ethic can be used to guide animal researchers and satisfy the wishes of society. 
    Reverence, which may be more accurately translated to respect, for life, does not make causing the death of an animal wrong unless the causing of pain or death can be avoided. Monamy states that “Anyone guided by ‘reverence for life’ will only cause death or suffering of any animal in cases of inescapable necessity. Chapters 5 and 6 go on to describe how animals are used in research, how animal use is regulated by western governments, and how alternatives to animal use should be pursued, but it is these closing pages in Chapter 4 that I believe is meant to give the reader a guiding ethic and an understanding of what their obligation is, to society and to their animal subjects. He indicates that animal investigators have to recognize their role as moral stewards, with animal experimentation viewed as an inescapable necessity which is justifiable as long as the scientist is in tune with their moral obligations. He quotes a 1991 work by Smith and Boyd, saying that “such a justification, however, should be considered very carefully indeed.” In addition, a quote from an Australian Senate animal welfare committee states that “...human beings bear the burden of...respecting and protecting the interests and welfare of those creatures which are alive and do have minimal levels of sentience...”
    Thus, it is easy to believe what Monamy said was suggested by David Porter: that “... all scientists adopting the ‘Schweitzerian’ model may become ‘...anti-vivisectionists at heart’.” Adopting such an ethical stance would create tension between one’s work and one’s values, and surely decrease the comfort level with which one approaches daily activities in the laboratory. In my opinion, however, it is better to fall on that side of the balance than on the side which may make one’s work so routine that consideration of animal welfare is in danger of being overlooked amongst the complexities of a given experimental procedure. Although most scientists do not contemplate the moral philosophy of their work on a regular basis, it is certain that they are very much aware of their moral responsibilities and take great effort to treat their animal subjects with the appropriate respect. Reading this book, however, should prompt one to reflect on their work for a few moments, which is good I think, and I was surprised that it had that effect on me. For a student or postdoctoral fellow just beginning to work with animals this should prove even more valuable. Finally, when the APS supports such critical self-evaluation for animal researchers, the Society moves a step beyond regulations and compliance issues by affirming that the reason why scientists treat animals with respect is not because they are forced to do so. 

Michael Brands
University of Mississippi 
Medical Center

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