Natarajan, Reka, Northrop, Nicole A, Yamamoto, Bryan K · Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2015 · DOI
When the body experiences prolonged stress, it can damage the system that controls body temperature through a chemical messenger in the brain called serotonin. This study found that stressed animals had trouble warming up when exposed to cold—the opposite of what healthy animals normally do—and this problem persisted even after stress ended. By blocking stress hormones during the stressful period, researchers could prevent these temperature control problems, suggesting stress-related damage to thermoregulation might be reversible.
Temperature dysregulation is a core symptom in ME/CFS, and this study identifies a plausible neurobiological mechanism linking chronic stress to persistent thermoregulatory deficits via serotonergic dysfunction. The finding that blocking stress hormone production during the stress period could prevent temperature control problems suggests potential therapeutic windows and mechanisms worth investigating in human ME/CFS populations.
This study does not prove that stress causes ME/CFS or that serotonin dysfunction is the sole cause of temperature problems in ME/CFS patients. The findings are from animal models and do not directly demonstrate the same mechanisms operate in humans. Additionally, the study does not establish whether these thermoregulatory changes are permanent or whether they could be reversed after stress exposure ends.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Natarajan, Reka, Northrop, Nicole A, & Yamamoto, Bryan K (2015). Protracted effects of chronic stress on serotonin-dependent thermoregulation.. Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands). https://doi.org/10.3109/10253890.2015.1087502
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-natarajan-2015-protracted-effects,
author = {Natarajan, Reka and Northrop, Nicole A and Yamamoto, Bryan K},
title = {Protracted effects of chronic stress on serotonin-dependent thermoregulation.},
journal = {Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands)},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.3109/10253890.2015.1087502},
note = {PubMed: 26414686},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/natarajan-2015-protracted-effects},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/natarajan-2015-protracted-effects
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