Similarity and difference between activities of autonomic nervous system and central nervous system in different conditions of arousal level and thermal comfort in indoor environment

Abstract

Control of thermal factors is needed to improve the conditions of occupants, because the thermal factors affect the conditions of occupants such as the comfort sensation, arousal level which is related to task performance. To determine the control method of thermal factors for improving the comfort sensation and the arousal level, indices which can evaluate the comfort sensation and the arousal level quantitatively and continuously are necessary. In this study, we focused on the physiological indices such as EEG (Electroencephalogram) which reflects the activity of central nervous system and ECG (Electrocardiogram) which reflects the activity of autonomic nervous system, and aimed to clarify the relations among the arousal level, thermal comfort and the parameters of EEG and ECG. We recorded the EEG, the ECG, the subjective feelings of thermal comfort and facial expression for evaluating arousal level of 14 healthy young males while they performed arithmetic tasks in environmental conditions that room temperature changed. From the results, among the parameters of EEG, there are indices that reflect the changes in arousal level only and other indices that reflect the changes in both arousal level and thermal comfort. On the other hand, among the parameters of ECG, there are indices that reflect the changes in both arousal level and thermal comfort.