Thermal Perception
Conditions
Brief summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to understand how environmental factors influence comfort and health. The main question it aims to answer is: * do temperature, visuals, and sounds affect a person's physiology and perception? Participants will watch short videos in 2 different climate-controlled environments and provide feedback on their thermal experiences.
Detailed description
Participants will engage in a series of sessions in a climate-controlled environment, where researchers will manipulate temperature, visuals, and sounds to study their effects on various physiological measurements, including blood pressure, pulse rate, core temperature, and skin temperature. The study will take place in two distinct chambers, with each chamber designed to allow for precise control of environmental variables. Participants will be asked to watch short video clips in different thermal environments and provide feedback on their thermal experiences.
Interventions
OTHERVisual stimulation
Participants will watch a 10-minute snow- or fire-themed video
OTHERAcoustic stimulation
Participants will listen to a natural sound from fire burning or snow falling
OTHERCombination
Participants will undergo both visual and acoustic stimulation
Sponsors
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Age 18-40 years * BMI between 18-27.5 kg/m² * No history of color blindness or sensory impairments * Normal chronotype (consistent sleep-wake patterns) * Must have lived in or near Guangzhou, China for at least two months prior to participation
Exclusion criteria
* Children (age under 18), elders (age \> 60) * People with obesity * People with a history of color blindness * People without a consistent sleep-awake pattern * People with limited English proficiency
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in thermal perception | Baseline to 90 minutes | Thermal comfort will be assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) to measure perceptions of thermal sensation, preference, comfort, pleasantness, and self-perceived shivering. The thermal acceptance of the environment will be rated on a binary scale (acceptable/unacceptable). |
| Change in pulse rate | Baseline to 90 minutes | Pulse will be measured using the Empatica Plus 4 |
| Change in skin temperature | Baseline to 90 minutes | Skin temperature will be measured at 14 sites using iButtons (DS1922L) |
| Change in blood pressure | Baseline to 90 minutes | Measured using an automatic blood pressure monitor |
| Change in core temperature | Baseline to 90 minutes | Measured using CORE core temperature device. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed