Sudomotor function, thermoregulation and electrodermal control in the human brain

Abstract

Thermoregulation is a primal evolutionary requirement for all homeothermic animals, including humans, and the affective aspects, i.e., comfort and discomfort, of thermal feelings correspond to the motivations that are essential for behavioral thermoregulation and homeostasis. Thermosensation via the skin also plays an important role in maintaining our body within thermoneutrality. Thus, the brain and the body work in concert to activate almost immediate regulatory mechanisms against undesirable challenges to core body temperature. These include involuntary physiological reactions, such as shivering or sweating, mediated by sudomotor function and electrodermal activity, and voluntary temperature regulation that takes place almost constantly.