Which part of the human brain is responsible for thermoregulation?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is the body's thermostat: it receives temperature information from the skin and from the blood flowing through it, compares it with a set point of about 37 °C, and triggers the corrective response — sweating and skin vasodilation when the body is too warm, shivering and vasoconstriction when it is too cold. It is a small structure of the forebrain (part of the diencephalon), lying just below the thalamus, and it also runs hunger, thirst, sleep–wake rhythm and the control of the pituitary gland.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) The medulla oblongata is the hindbrain's vital-reflex centre — it controls heartbeat, breathing and blood pressure and reflexes such as swallowing, vomiting, coughing and sneezing. It does not set or defend body temperature.  (b) The cerebrum handles the higher functions — thought, memory, language, voluntary movement and the conscious interpretation of sensation. You consciously feel hot or cold through the cerebrum, but the automatic regulation is done by the hypothalamus.  (d) The cerebellum maintains posture, balance and the smooth coordination of voluntary muscular movement. It has no role in temperature control.

Concept: Thermoregulation is a classic example of homeostasis working by negative feedback: a sensor detects a deviation, a control centre compares it against a set point, and effectors push the value back. Here the control centre is the hypothalamus, and the effectors are sweat glands, skin blood vessels and skeletal muscle (shivering). Fever fits the same model — pyrogens released during infection raise the hypothalamic set point, so the body feels cold and shivers until it reaches the new, higher temperature. The hypothalamus is also the bridge between the nervous and endocrine systems, since its releasing hormones control the pituitary.

State PCS 2026 Q30 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2026 Q30 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer