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A new paper on thermal comfort and brain activity has been published

A collaborative study involving associate professor Satoshi Shibuya of our laboratory has been published in an international scientific journal.

This study investigated how the human brain processes feelings of thermal comfort and discomfort in response to heat and cold. By recording electroencephalographic (EEG) activity under different thermal conditions and analyzing patterns of brain activity, the researchers found that distinct neural activity patterns emerge during states of comfort and discomfort. The findings advance our understanding of how humans perceive and adapt to thermal environments and may contribute to the development of more comfortable living and working spaces in the future.

This work was conducted in collaboration with Hironori Watanabe (Showa University), Taisuke Sugi (Waseda University), Kiyoshi Saito (Professor, Waseda University), and Kei Nagashima (Professor Emeritus, Waseda University).

The study was published online in Temperature on September 14, 2026.

ARTICLE INFORMATION

Article Title

Distinct spatiotemporal patterns of EEG-estimated brain source activity associated with thermal comfort and discomfort

Authors

Hironori Watanabe, Satoshi Shibuya, Taisuke Sugi, Kiyoshi Saito, Kei Nagashima (corresponding author)

Journal

Temperature

Article Publication Date

14 Sep, 2026

DOI

10.1080/23328940.2026.2728901

URL

https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2026.2728901

Statement

This study was supported by the Descente Sports Foundation, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (19H01128) and Toshiba Co. No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

5 Oct, 2026