2007, Piran, Slovenia

Environmental Ergonomics XII
Igor B. Mekjavic, Stelios N. Kounalakis & Nigel A.S. Taylor (Eds.), © BIOMED, Ljubljana 2007
systematic redistribution of sweating, but are merely the consequence of all sites
asymptotically approaching their maximal capacities.
NON-THERMAL STIMULATION
A wide range of non-thermal factors are known to influence sweating, once it has become
established. Indeed, this is a focus of an invited presentation at this meeting by Prof. Kondo.
We are also investigating the non-thermal influences on sweating, but with a specific interest
in how supra-medullary functions (cognitive processing), non-thermal peripheral feedback
(pain), and non-thermal feedforward (static exercise) differentially modulate regional sweat
secretion. Indeed, following the establishment of steady-state thermal sweating, we have
evaluated the impact of these non-thermal influences in resting subjects, studying local sweat
rates at more than 50 sites. These data will be presented at the conference.
DISCUSSION
We have previously shown foot that intra-segmental (foot) sweat rates cannot be assumed to
be equivalent (Taylor et al., 2006). We can now extend this fact to include the head, arms,
hands, torso and legs. Taken collectively, these facts force one to conclude that it is no longer
acceptable for modellers, manufacturers of sweating manikins or clothing manufacturers to
assume that either inter- or intra-segmental sweat rates are equivalent.
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