Previously it was shown that intranasal cocaine attenuates skin blood flow and sweating responses during passive heat stress, when compared to placebo. However, nothing is known about the effects of cocaine on whole-body temperature regulation during mild to moderate exercise in warm environmental condition.
This project will test the hypothesis that intranasal cocaine attenuates whole-body sweat rate, resulting in greater elevations in core temperature during mild to moderate exercise in warm environmental conditions.
Primary data include core temperature, skin temperatures, and whole body sweat rate. Secondary variables include cardiovascular responses, perceptions of exercise exertion and thermal comfort, and metabolic heat production. Intranasal lidocaine will be used as the placebo for cocaine. The selection of the drug administered during the first experimental trial will be randomized, with the other drug administered during the second experimental trial.
