Functional role for preoptic CB1 receptors in breathing and thermal control.

•We evaluated the role of CB1 receptors placed in the AVPO in respiratory and thermal control under normoxic and hypoxic in Wistar rats.•The endocannabinoid system in the AVPO exerts a tonic inhibitory modulation on breathing but did not change Tb under resting conditions.•The hypoxia-induced anapyrexia was attenuated by antagonism of CB1 receptors in the AVPO.•CB1 receptors in the AVPO reduce energetically expensive responses, such as the hypoxic hyperventilation.