Human cutaneous C fibres activated by cooling, heating and menthol

Campero, Mario; Baumann, Thomas; Bostock, Hugh; Ochoa, José L.

doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2009.176040

Cited by 121 publications

(123 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(90 reference statements)

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“…Previous work indicated several alternative neurophysiological mechanisms and pathways, including the difference in activity between cold‐specific and polymodal nociceptive neurons at the thalamocortical level,7, 11 summation by wide dynamic range neurons in the deep dorsal horn4, 6 and type 2 C‐afferents 36. More specifically, animal work suggests reciprocal cross‐inhibition between cold and warm afferents in the spinal cord 37, 38.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organization of the Thermal Grill Illusion by Spinal Segments

Fardo

Finnerup

Haggard

2018

Annals of Neurology

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ObjectiveA common symptom of neuropathy is the misperception of heat and pain from cold stimuli. Similar cold allodynic sensations can be experimentally induced using the thermal grill illusion (TGI) in humans. It is currently unclear whether this interaction between thermosensory and nociceptive signals depends on spinal or supraspinal integration mechanisms. To address this issue, we developed a noninvasive protocol to assess thermosensory integration across spinal segments.MethodsWe leveraged anatomical knowledge regarding dermatomes and their spinal projections to investigate potential contributions of spinal integration to the TGI. We simultaneously stimulated a pair of skin locations on the arm or lower back using 1 cold (∼20°C) and 1 warm thermode (∼40°C). The 2 thermodes were always separated by a fixed physical distance on the skin, but elicited neural activity across a varying number of spinal segments, depending on which dermatomal boundaries the 2 stimuli spanned.ResultsParticipants consistently overestimated the actual cold temperature on the skin during combined cold and warm stimulation, confirming the TGI effect. The TGI was present when cold and warm stimuli were delivered within the same dermatome, or across dermatomes corresponding to adjacent spinal segments. In striking contrast, no TGI effect was found when cold and warm stimuli projected to nonadjacent spinal segments.InterpretationThese results demonstrate that the strength of the illusion is modulated by the segmental distance between cold and warm afferents. This suggests that both temperature perception and thermal–nociceptive interactions depend upon low‐level convergence mechanisms operating within a single spinal segment and its immediate neighbors. Ann Neurol 2018;84:463–472

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organization of the Thermal Grill Illusion by Spinal Segments

Fardo

Finnerup

Haggard

2018

Annals of Neurology

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“…While these studies have provided the basis for well-established notions, such as fibers specificity in humans (i.e. the class of specific nerve fibers which are involved in warm and cold temperatures detection), recent evidence based on microneurographic recordings of activity in primary thermo-sensory nerve fibers in awake humans has challenged some of these well-established ideas (39,40,264).…”

Section: Neurophysiology Of Temperature Sensationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…cat) (145,148,162) and primates (e.g. macaque) (74,147,162,165,166,174,201) animal models as well as in humans (39,40,107,146,151,165,166,184,309). From a neuroanatomical point of view, studies in primates have shown that cold-sensitive fibers appear to belong primarily to the Aδ range, i.e.…”

Section: Peripheral Thermo-receptive Nerve Fibersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…s -1 (74), identified in the cat (145), primate (162) and human (39,40,146,264), have been repeatedly shown to respond to skin cooling, with characteristic responses similar to those of primate A-fibers thermoreceptors (162 (40) could be explained by either the possibility for such C-fibers to code thermal information which do not enter the conscious processing of thermal sensation (these could rather sub-serve thermoregulatory functions); or alternatively, by the fact that human afferents are non-uniform in their structure, presenting incomplete myelination distally and complete myelination proximally (40). Recently, and as a potential third hypothesis on the sensory function of cold sensitive unmyelinated C-fibers, it has been proposed that these fibers could sub-serve the burning hot pain experienced when painfully hot or cold stimuli are applied to the skin (39). These fibers could be therefore considered to represent a specific fiber population, namely C2-fibers (39), whose role could be complementary to that of Aδ-fibers in characterizing the variability of cold thermal sensations (i.e.…”

Section: Peripheral Thermo-receptive Nerve Fibersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, and as a potential third hypothesis on the sensory function of cold sensitive unmyelinated C-fibers, it has been proposed that these fibers could sub-serve the burning hot pain experienced when painfully hot or cold stimuli are applied to the skin (39). These fibers could be therefore considered to represent a specific fiber population, namely C2-fibers (39), whose role could be complementary to that of Aδ-fibers in characterizing the variability of cold thermal sensations (i.e. non-painful and painful) in humans.…”

Section: Peripheral Thermo-receptive Nerve Fibersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neurophysiology of Skin Thermal Sensations

Filingeri

2016

Comprehensive Physiology

104

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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 neuro-prosthetics. In light of the above, this review will focus on the peripheral and central neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning skin thermal and wetness sensations in humans.

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