Cutaneous sensory spots and the “law of specific nerve energies”: history and development of ideas

Norrsell, Ulf; Finger, Stanley; Lajonchere, Clara

doi:10.1016/s0361-9230(98)00067-7

Cited by 79 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In his temperature stimulation of the skin, Blix found that: 1) cold and warm sensations could be evoked from different spots; 2) applying cold stimuli to warm spots rarely induced cold sensations (and vice versa); 3) few spots presented both cold and warm sensitivity; 4) cold spots were in higher number than warm spots. As a result of these experiments, Blix produced body maps of cold and warm spots across the skin (230). Similar results were almost simultaneously obtained by Donaldson (87), who also mapped cold and warm spots across the skin.…”

Section: Role Of Skin Region Stimulatedsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Blix went further investigating temperature sensitivity of the skin with an apparatus he constructed for temperature stimulation (consisting of two water containers connected to Y shaped tube with a metal tip whose temperature could be controlled by allowing water at different temperatures contained in the two containers to flow through the tube) (230). In his temperature stimulation of the skin, Blix found that: 1) cold and warm sensations could be evoked from different spots; 2) applying cold stimuli to warm spots rarely induced cold sensations (and vice versa); 3) few spots presented both cold and warm sensitivity; 4) cold spots were in higher number than warm spots.…”

Section: Role Of Skin Region Stimulatedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…palm of the hand) skin sites (273). For example, hairy skin has been proposed to be more sensitive to thermal stimuli, while glabrous skin presents higher spatial tactile acuity (230). Such differences in thermal sensitivity have long been suggested to dependent upon potential differences in sensory innervation between hairy and glabrous skin sites.…”

Section: Role Of Skin Region Stimulatedmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neurophysiology of Skin Thermal Sensations

Filingeri

2016

Comprehensive Physiology

112

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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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Section: Role Of Skin Region Stimulatedsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Role Of Skin Region Stimulatedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Role Of Skin Region Stimulatedmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neurophysiology of Skin Thermal Sensations

Filingeri

2016

Comprehensive Physiology

112

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“…There are various major pain theories, including the intensity theory of pain, which postulates that any sensory stimulus with enough intensity can generate pain (2). The peripheral pattern theory suggests that pain is produced by intense stimulation of all skin fiber endings (3), which contradicts the specificity theory, which proposes that there are numerous types of sensory receptors, with each one responding to a specific type of stimuli (4).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analgesic effects of Chinese Tuina massage in a rat model of pain

Jiang

Hao

Fang

et al. 2016

Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine

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Abstract. Previous clinical trials have suggested that theChinese Tuina massage may exert transient analgesic effects. However, further investigation regarding the underlying mechanism has been hindered by the lack of a suitable animal model of pain. The present study established a rat model of hind leg pain by injecting 5.8% hypertonic saline solution (HSS) into the left gastrocnemius muscle. The effects of various Tuina massages on the pain thresholds of the rats were then measured. In addition, the effects of ipsilateral and contralateral Tuina massages on C-fiber-evoked field potentials following electrical stimulation of the left sciatic nerve were determined. Alterations in the gastrocnemius muscle tissues following various Tuina applications were investigated using hematoxylin and eosin, and desmin staining, as well as malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase assays. Heavy hand pressure transiently reduced the pain sensitivity of both posterior limbs, despite HSS only being injected into the left hind leg. Tuina massage treatments that lasted for 15 min were associated with the best results and an absence of local tissue changes. The results of electrical sciatic nerve stimulation demonstrated that ipsilateral and contralateral Tuina massage may decrease the level of peripheral nociceptive C-fiber activity. In the present study, the Chinese Tuina massage exerted analgesic effects in a rat model of pain, which did not involve tissue damage, following a 15 min massage. Therefore, the rat model of pain used in the present study may provide a novel approach for investigating the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of Tuina massage. IntroductionNociception is a sensory process that leads to pain triggered by nociceptors, which are primary sensory neurons that respond to thermal, mechanical or chemical stimuli (1). There are various major pain theories, including the intensity theory of pain, which postulates that any sensory stimulus with enough intensity can generate pain (2). The peripheral pattern theory suggests that pain is produced by intense stimulation of all skin fiber endings (3), which contradicts the specificity theory, which proposes that there are numerous types of sensory receptors, with each one responding to a specific type of stimuli (4). All of these theories propose that pain is induced by the hyperstimulation of sensory receptors; however, research has suggested that pain may be associated with other sensory stimuli, such as touch (5).The Chinese Tuina massage is a traditional hand massage, which has previously been associated with pain relief. There are six main styles of physical Tuina therapy, including wobbling, rubbing, vibrating, squeezing, knocking and articular moving. Squeezing involves pressing, pinching, kneading, grasping and rubbing, and is commonly used in Tuina pain treatments (6). Constant softness and penetration under consistent intensities, frequencies and manipulation durations are applied to all styles of Tuina. Clinical practice h...

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“…Proposed by von Frey over a century ago, the specificity theory of somesthesis grew out of the discovery that the sensitivities to touch, temperature and pain were distributed separately throughout the skin in a spot-like manner (Boring 1942;Norrsell et al 1999). The basic tenets of the theory as it pertains to temperature sensitivity subsequently received support from a variety of electrophysiological and psychophysical findings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nociceptive sensations evoked from ‘spots’ in the skin by mild cooling and heating

Green

Roman

Schoen

et al. 2008

Pain

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It was recently found that nociceptive sensations (stinging, pricking, or burning) can be evoked by cooling or heating the skin to innocuous temperatures (e.g., 29°, 37°C). Here we show that this lowthreshold thermal nociception (LTN) can be traced to sensitive 'spots' in the skin equivalent to classically defined warm spots and cold spots. Because earlier work had shown that LTN is inhibited by simply touching a thermode to the skin, a spatial search procedure was devised that minimized tactile stimulation by sliding small thermodes (16 mm 2 and 1 mm 2 ) set to 28° or 36°C slowly across the lubricated skin of the forearm. The procedure uncovered three types of temperature-sensitive sites (thermal, bimodal and nociceptive) that contained one or more thermal, nociceptive or (rarely) bimodal spots. Repeated testing indicated that bimodal and nociceptive sites were less stable over time than thermal sites, and that mechanical contact differentially inhibited nociceptive sensations. Intensity ratings collected over a range of temperatures showed that LTN increased monotonically on heat-sensitive sites but not on cold-sensitive sites. These results provide psychophysical evidence that stimulation from primary afferent fibers with thresholds in the range of warm fibers and cold fibers is relayed to the pain pathway. However, the labile nature of LTN implies that these lowthreshold nociceptive inputs are subject to inhibitory controls. The implications of these findings for the roles of putative temperature receptors and nociceptors in innocuous thermoreception and thermal pain are discussed.

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Cutaneous sensory spots and the “law of specific nerve energies”: history and development of ideas

Cited by 79 publications

References 16 publications

Neurophysiology of Skin Thermal Sensations

Neurophysiology of Skin Thermal Sensations

Analgesic effects of Chinese Tuina massage in a rat model of pain

Nociceptive sensations evoked from ‘spots’ in the skin by mild cooling and heating

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