I’m pretty sure there’s a shiny bead in your brain that regulates your temperature. Keep in mind, all my knowledge on this subject comes from Osmosis Jones.
AFAIK (undergrad biology), immune cells release signal molecules that cause temperature increase, more or less localized and wholly independent from the nervous system.
The reason you experience the chills when you spike a fever is the brain sets the desired temperature higher and as a result you perceive cold at your current body temperature. And also why you feel like you are in a sauna when your fever breaks, because the inverse is true.
To be clear this set point does mean induction of peripheral actions to actually elevate the temperature, but the central component of this symphony is the hypothalamus.
There is a lot of uncertainty around fever signaling, here is a great summary of what we know.
What if instead of viruses or diseases killing you it was your brains increasingly escalatory responses to the virus. Basically the braining saying I’m killing this thing or I’m gonna die trying. I dont the science behind it but I’m high as.
There are many, many diseases caused by your own immune system attacking your body. The brain itself cannot “attack” anything unless you count seizures and the like. Maybe several forms of psychosis could fit the bill with even more stretching, but there is little your brain can do outside of interfering with bodily functions. If you seizure that hard outside of a hospital bed, you’re probably SOL in most cases.
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