Shared Interest Groups

PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS AND WELFARE

Stressors induce autonomic responses through the sympatho-adrenal axis that can be measured through heart rate, blood flow and respiratory rate. Rapid changes in the pattern of blood flow, from the periphery to the core via cutaneous vasoconstriction leads to an increase in core body temperature and cooling of the skin. Thermal imaging provides a non-invasive method of detecting these stress-related changes in surface temperature.

This research aims to examine if acute and chronic stress, as well as positive affective states that can be detected from changes in surface temperature.