Separation of the effects of raised skin and core temperature on performance of a pursuit rotor task.

Performance of a pursuit rotor task was studied during induced cycles of core temperature between limits of 37.9 degrees C and 38.5 degrees C. At each level of core temperature tested (37.9 degrees C, 38.5 degrees C, and 38.5 degrees C) performance was significantly worse during heating, when skin temperatures were high, than during cooling. The observed decrements were 13.6% at 37.9 degrees C, 16.0% at 38.2 degrees C and 18.1% at 38.5 degrees C. While it may be true that the performance changes were caused by changes in the level of skin temperature, the direction and rate of change of both core and skin temperatures may be important determinants of performance. The results are discussed in relation to current arousal theory.