In this wide ranging and yet in-depth physiology seminar, Vidyadhara presented the mechanisms of thermoregulation starting from a historical overview and walk through of Hammel's 1965 set point theory (of the interaction between warm sensitive neurons and temperature insensitive neurons in the anterior hypothalamus/pre-optic nucleus and their influence of warm and cold effectors) and its current revised format and the classic "thermode" studies by Hammel and Benzinger and Nakayama in the 1960's for directly manipulating temperature in the anterior hypothalamus.
He discussed thermoregulation via behavioural and autonomic responses; mechanisms of thermogenesis, non thermal factors such as pyrogenic infections, sleep and body temperature; hormonal effects, exercise, dehydration...
In closing, Vidyadhara brought up an interesting aspect of thermoregulation at the societal level - asking if global warming and the lack of thermoregulation at that level could make us an endangered species?