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An Individualized, Perception-Based Protocol to Investigate Human Physiological Responses to Cooling
Crystal L Coolbaugh1, Emily C Bush1, Elizabeth S Galenti1
1Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States.
Frontiers in Physiology
|March 30, 2018
Summary
This study introduces a new individualized cooling method to standardize brown adipose tissue (BAT) research. The perception-based protocol personalizes cold stress, showing potential for diverse population studies.
Area of Science:
- Human Physiology
- Thermogenesis
- Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT) Research
Background:
- Cold exposure is key for studying brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis in humans.
- Individualized cooling aims to standardize cold stress but lacks detailed methodology.
- Existing methods have limitations in accounting for individual differences in cold sensitivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate a detailed, perception-based protocol for individualized human cooling.
- To investigate physiological responses to standardized, personalized cold stress.
- To assess the feasibility of using a thermoesthesia graphical user interface (tGUI) for real-time feedback.
Main Methods:
- Participants were cooled using water-circulating blankets with personalized temperature adjustments.
- Skin temperature probes monitored BAT activity surrogates and peripheral vasoconstriction.
- A tGUI recorded subjective cooling perception and shivering status for protocol adaptation.
Main Results:
- The individualized protocol demonstrated significant variability in temperature, perception, and shivering across participants.
- Mean clavicle skin temperature showed a trend towards decrease, with some participants exhibiting increased supraclavicular temperature.
- A strong positive correlation was observed between thermoesthesia (cooling perception) and peripheral vasoconstriction.
Conclusions:
- The developed individualized, perception-based cooling protocol is a feasible method for studying human physiological responses to cold.
- This approach has potential for investigating cold stress in diverse populations with varying characteristics.
- Further research can refine this method for standardized BAT and thermogenesis studies.
Keywords:
brown adipose tissuecold exposurehumansshiveringsupraclavicular skin temperaturethermoregulationvasoconstrictionMore Related Videos
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