Decreasing the tactile interaction between skin, sweat and clothing significantly reduces the perception of wetness independently of the level of physical skin wetness during moderate exercise

Although the ability to sense skin wetness and humidity is critical for behavioural and autonomic adaptations, humans are not provided with specific skin receptors for sensing wetness [1]. We have recently demonstrated that humans perceive the wetness experienced when the skin is in contact with a wet surface through a multisensory integration of thermal and tactile inputs generated by the interaction between skin and moisture [2]. To further the understanding on the neurophysiology of human skin wetness perception, here we tested the hypothesis that the perception of sweat-induced skin wetness can be significantly manipulated, independently from the level of physical skin wetness.