Nervous Control of the Heart during Thoracic Temperature Regulation in a Sphinx Moth

Heating the thorax of the sphinx moth, Manduca sexta, evoked pulsations of the heart in the abdomen. These pulsations were of relatively high rate and amplitude, and traveled from the abdomen into the thorax. While heat was continuously applied exclusively to the thorax, thoracic temperature often stabilized and abdominal temperature increased sharply. Thoracic heating of moths with transected nerve cord, however, did not evoke these responses. It is inferred that the heart in the abdomen responds to overheating of the thorax through neural influence.