Team : Neuroscape
Member : Kyeong-Eon KIM(ROK), Askia Khryss Roxas (PHL), Jayden Woosung YANG(USA)
Mentor : Dr. Youngmi JI
Research title : The Impact of Temperature and Humidity on Neural Activity and Cognitive Performance in Climate-Vulnerable APEC Populations

Research summary :
Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing modern society. To address this problem, governments worldwide have implemented energy efficiency measures, including standardized indoor temperature recommendations. However, these standardized conditions are not optimal for cognitive performance in workers and students with a global estimate of heat-driven labor productivity loss at roughly US $2.4–2.5 trillion by 2030 (Borg et al., 2021).

This study examined whether thermal environments influence cognitive task performance across different environmental conditions. To examine whether the relationship between task performance and thermal environments affects cognitive functioning, we recorded participants' performance on Stroop tasks, object identification tests, and verbal fluency assessments across three different climate conditions.

 
In this experiment, participants were asked to complete standardized cognitive tasks in controlled environmental chambers (climate boxes). Room temperature (ambient, 35°C) and humidity (ambient, 75%) were manipulated during the tasks, and participants performed cognitive assessments under these conditions. he experiment was conducted during the SAF school festival at KSA of KAIST, with 19 participants (students and staff) completing tasks in custom-built climate boxes measuring 600x400x450mm.

 
Each participant spent 11 minutes per condition:
3 minutes for environmental adjustment and 2 minutes per cognitive task.
The results of this study showed that cognitive performance, especially object identification accuracy, decreased significantly between control and combined heat-humidity conditions (U = 23, p < 0.05). Moreover, Stroop task efficiency showed consistent downward trends from control to heat-stress conditions, though statistical significance was not reached in this pilot sample. Verbal fluency tasks showed minimal sensitivity to thermal manipulation. These results suggest that cognitive performance, particularly visual processing tasks, deteriorates in warmer and more humid environments, even when exposure duration is brief. This study provides integrated evidence for relationships between cognitive task performance and thermal environment by analyzing behavioral indexes across multiple cognitive domains.