Neurophysiology of skin thermal sensations

Undoubtedly, adjusting our thermoregulatory behavior represents the most effective mechanism to maintain thermal homeostasis and ensure survival in the diverse thermal environments that we face on this planet. Remarkably, our thermal behavior is entirely dependent on the ability to detect variations in our internal (i.e., body) and external environment, via sensing changes in skin temperature and wetness. In the past 30 years, we have seen a significant expansion of our understanding of the molecular, neuroanatomical, and neurophysiological mechanisms that allow humans to sense temperature and humidity. The discovery of temperature-activated ion channels which gate the generation of action potentials in thermosensitive neurons, along with the characterization of the spino-thalamo-cortical thermosensory pathway, and the development of neural models for the perception of skin wetness, are only some of the recent advances which have provided incredible insights on how biophysical changes in skin temperature and wetness are transduced into those neural signals which constitute the physiological substrate of skin thermal and wetness sensations. Understanding how afferent thermal inputs are integrated and how these contribute to behavioral and autonomic thermoregulatory responses under normal brain function is critical to determine how these mechanisms are disrupted in those neurological conditions, which see the concurrent presence of afferent thermosensory abnormalities and efferent thermoregulatory dysfunctions. Furthermore, advancing the knowledge on skin thermal and wetness sensations is crucial to support the development of neuroprosthetics. In light of the aforementioned text, this review will focus on the peripheral and central neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning skin thermal and wetness sensations in humans

Thermal protection of the new born during carrying: an evaluation of parents’ practices [Abstract]

Public health guidelines on how to ensure babies’ thermal protection are available (e.g. dressing with 1 extra layer of clothing than the adult); yet little is known on the strategies that parents adopt to ensure their babies’ thermal protection when these are carried in a sling (i.e. babywearing). The aim of this study was to survey parents’ practices during babywearing with regards to baby dressing and thermal monitoring in the heat and cold

Human skin wetness perception: psychophysical and neurophysiological bases

The ability to perceive thermal changes in the surrounding environment is critical for survival. However, sensing temperature is not the only factor among the cutaneous sensations to contribute to thermoregulatory responses in humans. Sensing skin wetness (i.e. hygrosensation) is also critical both for behavioral and autonomic adaptations. Although much has been done to define the biophysical role of skin wetness in contributing to thermal homeostasis, little is known on the neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning the ability to sense skin wetness. Humans are not provided with skin humidity receptors (i.e., hygroreceptors) and psychophysical studies have identified potential sensory cues (i.e. thermal and mechanosensory) which could contribute to sensing wetness. Recently, a neurophysiological model of human wetness sensitivity has been developed. In helping clarifying the peripheral and central neural mechanisms involved in sensing skin wetness, this model has provided evidence for the existence of a specific human hygrosensation strategy, which is underpinned by perceptual learning via sensory experience. Remarkably, this strategy seems to be shared by other hygroreceptor-lacking animals. However, questions remain on whether these sensory mechanisms are underpinned by specific neuromolecular pathways in humans. Although the first study on human wetness perception dates back to more than 100 years, it is surprising that the neurophysiological bases of such an important sensory feature have only recently started to be unveiled. Hence, to provide an overview of the current knowledge on human hygrosensation, along with potential directions for future research, this review will examine the psychophysical and neurophysiological bases of human skin wetness perception

Thermosensory micromapping of warm and cold sensitivity across glabrous and hairy skin of male and female hands and feet

The ability of hands and feet to convey skin thermal sensations is an important contributor to our experience of the surrounding world. Surprisingly, the detailed topographical distribution of warm and cold thermosensitivity across hands and feet has not been mapped, although sensitivity maps exist for touch and pain. Using a recently developed quantitative sensory test, we mapped warm and cold thermosensitivity of 103 skin sites over glabrous and hairy skin of hands and feet in male (M; 30.2 ± 5.8 yr) and female (F; 27.7 ± 5.1 yr) adults matched for body surface area (M: 1.77 ± 0.2 m2; F: 1.64 ± 0.1 m2; P = 0.155). Findings indicated that warm and cold thermosensitivity varies by fivefold across glabrous and hairy skin of hands and feet and that hands (warm/cold sensitivity: 1.25/2.14 vote/°C) are twice as sensitive as the feet (warm/cold sensitivity: 0.51/0.99 vote/°C). Opposite to what is known for touch and pain sensitivity, we observed a characteristic distal-to-proximal increase in thermosensitivity over both hairy and glabrous skin (i.e., from fingers and toes to body of hands and feet), and found that hairy skin is more sensitive than glabrous. Finally, we show that body surface area-matched men and women presented small differences in thermosensitivity and that these differences are constrained to glabrous skin only. Our high-density thermosensory micromapping provides the most detailed thermosensitivity maps of hands and feet in young adults available to date. These maps offer a window into peripheral and central mechanisms of thermosensory integration in humans and will help guide future developments in smart skin and sensory neuroprostheses, in wearable, energy-efficient personal comfort systems, and in sport and protective clothing

Warm hands, cold heart: progressive whole-body cooling increases warm thermosensitivity of human hands and feet in a dose-dependent fashion

While inhibitory/facilitatory central modulation of vision and pain has been investigated, contextual modulation of skin temperature integration has been unexplored. Hence, we tested whether progressive decreases in whole-body mean skin temperature (Tsk) (a large conditioning stimulus) alter the magnitude estimation of local warming and cooling stimuli applied to hairy and glabrous skin. On 4 separate occasions, 8 males (27 ± 5y) underwent a 30-min whole-body cooling protocol (water-perfused-suit; temperature: 5 C), during which a quantitative thermosensory test, consisting of reporting perceived magnitude of warming and cooling stimuli (±8°C from 30°C baseline) applied to the hand (palm/dorsum) and foot (sole/dorsum), was performed before cooling and every 10 min thereafter. The cooling protocol resulted in large progressive reductions in whole-body Tsk (10 min: -3.36 C (95% CI: -2.62, -4.10); 20 min: −5.21°C (−4.47, -5.95); 30 min: −6.32°C ( −5.58, -7.05); P < 0.001), with minimal changes (∼0.08 C) in rectal temperature. While thermosensitivity to local skin cooling remained unchanged (P = 0.831), sensitivity to skin warming increased significantly at each level of whole-body Tsk for all skin regions (10 min: +4.9% (−1.1, +11.0); 20 min: +6.1% (+0.1, 12.2); 30 min: +7.9% (+1.9, +13.9); P = 0.009). Linear regression indicated a 1.2%.°C−1 increase in warm thermosensitivity with whole-body skin cooling. Overall, large decreases in whole-body Tsk significantly facilitated warm, but not cold, sensory processing of local thermal stimuli, in a dose-dependent fashion. In highlighting a novel feature of human temperature integration, these findings point to the existence of an endogenous thermosensory system that could modulate local skin thermal sensitivity in relation to whole-body thermal states

High-resolution whole-body mapping of warm and cold thermosensitivity in people with multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune neurological disease affecting >2.5M people worldwide. Sensory symptoms (e.g. altered thermal sensations) are common in MS. However, data is lacking on whether and to what extent warm and cold sensitivity is impaired across the body in MS. The aim of this study was to map with high resolution warm and cold sensitivity across the body of people with MS and compare it to a control group.<br

Thermal and tactile interactions in the perception of local skin wetness at rest and during exercise in thermo-neutral and warm environments

The central integration of thermal (i.e. cold) and mechanical (i.e. pressure) sensory afferents is suggested as to underpin the perception of skin wetness. However, the role of temperature and mechanical inputs, and their interaction, is still unclear. Also, it is unknown whether this intra-sensory interaction changes according to the activity performed or the environmental conditions. Hence, we investigated the role of peripheral cold afferents, and their interaction with tactile afferents, in the perception of local skin wetness during rest and exercise in thermo-neutral and warm environments. Six cold-dry stimuli, characterised by decreasing temperatures [i.e. -4, -8 and -15°C below the local skin temperature (Tsk)] and by different mechanical pressures [i.e. low pressure (LP): 7 kPa; high pressure (HP): 10 kPa], were applied on the back of 8 female participants (age 21 ± 1 years), while they were resting or cycling in 22 or 33°C ambient temperature. Mean and local Tsk, thermal and wetness perceptions were recorded during the tests. Cold-dry stimuli produced drops in Tsk with cooling rates in a range of 0.06 to 0.4°C/s. Colder stimuli resulted in increasing coldness and in stimuli being significantly more often perceived as wet, particularly when producing skin cooling rates of 0.18°C/s and 0.35°C/s. However, when stimuli were applied with HP, local wetness perceptions were significantly attenuated. Wetter perceptions were recorded during exercise in the warm environment. We conclude that thermal inputs from peripheral cutaneous afferents are critical in characterizing the perception of local skin wetness. However, the role of these inputs might be modulated by an intra-sensory interaction with the tactile afferents. These findings indicate that human sensory integration is remarkably multimodal

High-resolution whole-body mapping of warm and cold thermosensitivity in people with multiple sclerosis

High-resolution whole-body mapping of warm and cold thermosensitivity in people with multiple sclerosi

Evidence of viscerally-mediated cold-defence thermoeffector responses in man

Sudomotor activity is modified by both warm and cold fluid ingestion during heat stress, independently of differences in core and skin temperatures, suggesting independent viscerally-mediated modification of thermoeffectors. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether visceral thermoreceptors modify shivering responses to cold stress. Ten males (27 ± 5y, 1.73 ± 0.06 m, 78.4 ± 10.7 kg) underwent whole-body cooling via 5 °C water perfusion-suit, on four occasions, to induce a steady-state shivering response, at which point two aliquots of 1.5 ml/kg (SML) and 3.0 ml/kg (LRG), separated by 20- min, of either 7°C, 22°C, 37°C or 52°C water were ingested. Rectal, mean skin and mean body temperature (Tb), electromyographic activity (EMG), metabolic rate (M) and whole-body thermal sensation on a visual analogue scale (WBTS) ranging from 0 mm [very cold] to 200 mm [very hot] were all measured throughout. Tb was not different between all fluid temperatures following SML (7°C:35.7 ± 0.5°C, 22°C:35.6 ± 0.5°C, 37°C:35.5 ± 0.4°C, 52°C:35.5 ± 0.4°C; P = 0.27) or LRG (7°C:35.3 ± 0.6°C, 22°C:35.3 ± 0.5°C, 37°C:35.2 ± 0.5°C, 52°C:35.3 ± 0.5°C; P = 0.99) fluid ingestion. With SML ingestion, greater metabolic rate and cooler thermal sensations were observed with 7°C (M:179 ± 55 W, WBTS:29 ± 21 mm) compared to 52°C (M:164 ± 34 W, WBTS:51 ± 28 mm; all P < 0.05) ingestion. With LRG ingestion, compared to shivering and thermal sensations with 37 °C ingestion (M:215 ± 47 W, EMG:3.9 ± 2.5%MVC, WBTS:33 ± 2 mm) values were different (all P < 0.05) following 7°C (M:269 ± 77 W, EMG:5.5 ± 0.9%MVC, WBTS:14 ± 12 mm), 22°C (M:270 ± 86 W, EMG:5.6 ± 1.0%MVC, WBTS:18 ± 19 mm) and 52°C (M:179 ± 34 W, EMG:3.3 ± 2.1%MVC, WBTS:53 ± 28 mm) ingestion. In conclusion, ingesting 52°C fluids decreased shivering and the sensation of coolness, whereas 22°C and 7°C fluids increased shivering and sensations of coolness to similar levels, independently of core and skin temperature

Temperature in the hot spot: oesophageal temperature and whole body thermal status in patent foramen ovale

Temperature in the hot spot: oesophageal temperature and whole body thermal status in patent foramen oval