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Thermal comfort
Kei Nagashima1, Ken Tokizawa2, Shuri Marui1
1Body Temperature and Fluid Laboratory, Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan.
Handbook of Clinical Neurology
|November 21, 2018
Summary
Behavioral thermoregulation, crucial for survival, relies on thermal comfort. Brain mechanisms, not skin sensors, likely determine thermal comfort and drive behavioral responses for temperature regulation.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Neuroscience
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Thermoregulation is vital for survival, involving autonomic and behavioral processes.
- Behavioral thermoregulation, while critical, cannot solely maintain core temperature.
- Thermal comfort is key to initiating behavioral thermoregulation, but its mechanisms are unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the role of thermal comfort in behavioral thermoregulation.
- To investigate the underlying brain mechanisms of thermal comfort and discomfort.
- To understand how thermal perception influences behavioral responses to environmental temperature.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on thermoregulation and thermal comfort.
- Analysis of physiological and neurological factors influencing thermal perception.
- Discussion of brain regions involved in thermal sensation and decision-making.
Main Results:
- Thermal comfort is linked to restoring core temperature, while discomfort arises from deviations.
- Thermal perception is influenced by skin sensitivity, hydration, and adaptation.
- Brain mechanisms, particularly insular and cingulate cortices, appear central to thermal comfort assessment.
Conclusions:
- Thermal comfort and discomfort are primarily brain-mediated, not peripheral.
- Decision-making brain areas likely trigger behavioral thermoregulation.
- Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for survival in varying environments.
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