Relative contribution of core and cutaneous temperatures to thermal comfort and autonomic responses in humans

• Published in: Journal of applied physiology (1985) 1999-05, Vol.86 (5), p.1588-1593
• Main Authors: Frank, Steven M, Raja, Srinivasa N, Bulcao, Christian F, Goldstein, David S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Algorithms; Autonomic Nervous System - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Body Composition - physiology; Body Temperature - physiology; Body Temperature Regulation - physiology; Energy Metabolism - physiology; Epinephrine - blood; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Hypothermia; Male; Metabolism; Muscle Tonus - physiology; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular - physiology; Norepinephrine - blood; Skin; Skin Temperature - physiology; Studies; Temperature; Thermoregulation. Hibernation. Estivation. Ecophysiology and environmental effects; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
• ISSN: 8750-7587; 1522-1601
• DOI: 10.1152/jappl.1999.86.5.1588

1  Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland 21287; 2  School of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1A4; and 3  Clinical Neurocience Branch, Clinical Neurochemistry Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 Subjective thermal comfort plays a critical role in body temperature regulation since this represents the primary stimulus for behavioral thermoregulation. Although both core (T c ) and skin-surface (T sk ) temperatures are known afferent inputs to the thermoregulatory system, the relative contributions of T c and T sk to thermal comfort are unknown. We independently altered T c and T sk in human subjects while measuring thermal comfort, vasomotor changes, metabolic heat production, and systemic catecholaminergic responses. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the relative T c /T sk contribution to thermal comfort and the autonomic thermoregulatory responses, by using the ratio of regression coefficients for T c and T sk . The T c /T sk contribution ratio was relatively lower for thermal comfort (1:1) than for vasomotor changes (3:1; P  = 0.008), metabolic heat production (3.6:1; P  = 0.001), norepinephrine (1.8:1; P  =   0.03), and epinephrine (3:1; P  = 0.006) responses. Thus T c and T sk contribute about equally toward thermal comfort, whereas T c predominates in regulation of the autonomic and metabolic responses. adrenergic; epinephrine; hypothermia; metabolism; norepinephrine; thermal comfort; thermoregulation; vasoconstriction