Adaptation of thermal pain in the skin

1962 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon C. Greene ◽  
James D. Hardy
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Radiation ◽  
Skin Temperature ◽  
Radiation Intensity ◽  
Pain Threshold ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Initial Period ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Thermal Pain ◽  
Cutaneous Pain ◽  
The Subject

Cutaneous pain thresholds were determined on blackened skin of foreheads and forearms of human subjects over areas of 16 cm2 by recording skin temperature during exposure to thermal radiation for periods up to 50 min. Intensity of stimulus was controlled by the subject so that threshold pain was maintained throughout the exposure. After the initial period of adjustment by the subject, radiation intensity was generally maintained constant although skin temperature for the pain threshold decreased from 44.9 C to 43.8 C. By using an intensity as low as 22 mcal/cm2/sec, threshold pain was evoked in 29 min at a skin temperature of 42.2 C. In both groups, once pain had been established it did not disappear. It is inferred from these observations that thermal pain does not adapt for near-threshold stimulation in the period between onset of pain at 30 sec and termination of stimulation. Submitted on December 26, 1961

Relationship between pain and tissue damage due to thermal radiation

1959 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice M. Stoll ◽  
Leon C. Greene
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Radiation ◽  
Skin Temperature ◽  
Exposure Time ◽  
Tissue Damage ◽  
Pain Threshold ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Thermal Inertia ◽  
Pain Sensation ◽  
India Ink

Sites on the volar surfaces of the forearms of human subjects were blackened with India ink and exposed to thermal irradiances of from 50 to 400 mcal/cm2 sec. The exposure time and skin temperature at which threshold pain occurred, and which produced minimal blistering within 24 hours, were noted. The thermal inertia (k⍴c) of the skin was shown to vary directly with the level of irradiance. The receptors effective in mediating the pain sensation were calculated to be at a depth of approximately 200 μ and to have a threshold of approximately 43.2℃. Tissue damage rates with respect to temperature were derived empirically so that damage integrated over the time for which skin temperature was elevated over the pain threshold was equated to unity. The substitution of the ratio of these rates with respect to temperature for the stimulus ratio, in the prediction of the observed discriminable steps in pain sensation intensity, yielded faithful reproduction of the just noticeable differences observed for pain through the range of this sensation. Submitted on September 17, 1958

An Examination by Forearm EMG on Pain Reaction Time to Radiant Heat

1993 ◽  
Vol 76 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1139-1146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiteru Hatayama ◽  
Kayoko Shimizu
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Time Delay ◽  
Skin Temperature ◽  
Motor Response ◽  
Pain Threshold ◽  
Radiant Heat ◽  
Repeated Measurements ◽  
Pain Sensation ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Pain Reaction

The present study was done to estimate rise in skin temperature during a pain reaction time (pain RT) as a means of investigating why a pricking pain threshold, produced by thermal stimulation using time method, often increases during repeated measurements. The pain RT, or the time-delay between occurrence of pain sensation and a subsequent motor response, was measured by making EMG recording on a forearm. The radiant heat stimuli were three, 200, 300, and 350 mcal/sec./cm2, each of which was given through a round radiation window of an algesiometer head. Analysis showed that the pain RTs would be too short to explain higher pain thresholds often found using the time method.

Skin temperature and cutaneous pain during warm water immersion

1965 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1014-1021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Hardy ◽  
J. A. J. Stolwijk ◽  
H. T. Hammel ◽  
D. Murgatroyd
Keyword(s):  
Skin Temperature ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Water Immersion ◽  
Bath Temperature ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Thermal Gradients ◽  
Order Kinetic ◽  
Thermal Pain ◽  
Superficial Skin ◽  
Skin Temperatures

Measurements of skin temperature were made during the sudden immersion of the skin of human subjects in water baths at 36–41 C and related to the reports of pain elicited during the first few seconds of immersion. Within 0.5 sec, the skin temperature rose to bath temperature and remained at this level during the 10–15 sec of immersion, pain was reported at 37–41 C occurring 1–5 sec after the start of the immersion and adapting in 2–6 sec. Calculation of the subcutaneous temperature and thermal gradients indicate maximal thermal gradients in superficial skin layers during the first 0.1–0.2 sec of immersion (60 C/mm) decreasing rapidly during the first 5 sec to 6 C/mm. Analysis of the transient pain indicated that it could be considered as the more sensitive “phasic” response of the pain ending of which the “static” unadapting response occurs at skin temperatures of 43–46 C. Several alternative explanations including subcutaneous thermal gradients, vasomotor reactions, and thermochemical changes in the nerve membrane were considered as possible explanations. The last most likely possibility requires a second-order kinetic system of three capacities with highly temperature-sensitive reaction velocities to account for both the phasic and static components of the pain. thermal pain; transient pain; thermal gradients; protein destruction rates; mathematical model; adaptation of pain Submitted on September 2, 1964

Repeatability of cold pain and heat pain thresholds: The application of sensory testing in migraine research

Cephalalgia ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 904-909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trond Sand ◽  
Kristian Bernhard Nilsen ◽  
Knut Hagen ◽  
Lars Jacob Stovner
Keyword(s):  
Pain Threshold ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Cold Pain ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Thermal Pain ◽  
Normal Limits ◽  
Normal Test ◽  
Heat Pain Threshold ◽  
The Face ◽  
Repeatability Limit

Normal heat pain threshold (HPT) and cold pain threshold (CPT) repeatability should be estimated in order to identify thermal allodynia in longitudinal studies, but such data are scarce in the literature. The aim of our study was to estimate normal HPT and CPT repeatability in the face, forehead, neck and hand. In addition, we reviewed briefly normative studies of thermal pain thresholds relevant for headache research. Thermal pain thresholds were measured on three different days in 31 healthy headache-free subjects. Coefficients of repeatability and normal limits were calculated. HPT and CPT were lowest in the face. Pooled across regions, the lower repeatability limit for the test/retest ratio was 63% for HPT and 55% for CPT. The upper normal CPT limit varied between 24.5°C and 29.7°C. Lower HPT limits ranged between 35.5°C and 40.8°C. Quantitative sensory methods provide useful information about headache and pain pathophysiology, and it is important to estimate the normal test/retest repeatability range in follow-up studies.

scholarly journals Low mechano-afferent fibers reduce thermal pain but not pain intensity in CRPS

BMC Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Habig ◽  
Gothje Lautenschläger ◽  
Hagen Maxeiner ◽  
Frank Birklein ◽  
Heidrun H. Krämer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pain Intensity ◽  
Pain Threshold ◽  
Glabrous Skin ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Cold Pain ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Thermal Pain ◽  
C Fibers ◽  
Ct Afferents ◽  
Heat Pain Threshold

Abstract Background Human hairy (not glabrous skin) is equipped with a subgroup of C-fibers, the C-tactile (CT) fibers. Those do not mediate pain but affective aspects of touch. CT-fiber-activation reduces experimental pain if they are intact. In this pilot study we investigated pain modulating capacities of CT-afferents in CRPS. Methods 10 CRPS-patients (mean age 33 years, SEM 3.3) and 11 healthy controls (mean age 43.2 years, SEM 3.9) participated. CT-targeted-touch (brush stroking, velocity: 3 cm/s) was applied on hairy and glabrous skin on the affected and contralateral limb. Patients rated pleasantness of CT-targeted-touch (anchors: 1 “not pleasant”—4 “very pleasant”) twice daily on 10 days. Pain intensity (NRS: 0 “no pain” – 10 “worst pain imaginable”) was assessed before, 0, 30, 60 and 120 min after each CT-stimulation. To assess sensory changes, quantitative-sensory-testing was performed at the beginning and the end of the trial period. Results CT-targeted-touch was felt more pleasant on the healthy compared to the affected limb on hairy (p < 0.001) and glabrous skin (p 0.002), independent of allodynia. In contrast to healthy controls patients felt no difference between stimulating glabrous and hairy skin on the affected limb. Thermal pain thresholds increased after CT-stimulation on the affected limb (cold-pain-threshold: p 0.016; heat-pain-threshold: p 0.033). Conclusions CT-stimulation normalizes thermal pain thresholds but has no effect on the overall pain in CRPS. Therefore, pain modulating properties of CT-fibers might be too weak to alter chronic pain in CRPS. Moreover, CT-fibers appear to lose their ability to mediate pleasant aspects of touch in CRPS.

scholarly journals Does It Hurt?

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-249
Author(s):  
Koraljka Modić Stanke ◽  
Dragutin Ivanec ◽  
Luka Butić
Keyword(s):  
Pain Assessment ◽  
Pain Threshold ◽  
The Other ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Thermal Pain ◽  
Lower Status ◽  
Moderate Effect ◽  
Electrical Stimuli ◽  
Pain Unpleasantness

The aim of this paper is to determine whether experimenter's professional status (Study 1) and familiarity (Study 2) affect participant's pain assessment, even when there are no other differences in the experimenter's characteristics. Both studies measured pain threshold and tolerance, and assessment of pain unpleasantness and intensity induced by thermal and electrical stimuli. In Study 1, experimenter introduced himself to participants as either a student (lower status) or an expert associate (higher status). ANOVA revealed significant and moderate to large effect of status only in thermal modality; as expected, participants tested by the higher status experimenter displayed higher thermal pain thresholds and tolerances. In Study 2, another experimenter conducted all the measurements; hers (higher) status was previously familiar to one group of students and disclosed to the other group just before the measurement. ANOVA revealed statistically significant and moderate effect of familiarity only in electrical modality; as expected, participants tested by the familiar higher status experimenter displayed higher electrical pain thresholds and tolerances. These results suggest that not only the professional status of a person measuring pain, but also individual's familiarity with it influences someone's pain assessment. With this in mind, researchers are encouraged to conduct studies that control for these factors and to include more information regarding experimenter's characteristics within their reports.

Nociceptive threshold measurements in the cat

1962 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1009-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles E. Rice ◽  
D. R. Kenshalo
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Radiation ◽  
Skin Temperature ◽  
Radiation Source ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Nociceptive Threshold ◽  
Minimum Duration ◽  
The Mean

Five cats were trained to give a leg-lift response in order to turn off a thermal radiation source. The minimum duration of thermal radiation that would consistently evoke a leg-lift response was taken to be the noxious threshold. The mean calculated skin temperature for the five experimental cats, at threshold, was 52.6 ± 0.35 C. This is compared to a mean calculated skin temperature of 44.5 ± 0.13 C for human subjects under identical conditions of stimulation. Submitted on June 4, 1962

A shower spray facility for accurate control and rapid changes of skin temperature

1976 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 641-643
Author(s):  
G. D. Callin
Keyword(s):  
Skin Temperature ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Periodic Wave ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Step Functions ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
Wave Forms ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Average Skin ◽  
Preset Temperature

A shower spray facility (SSF) was built to closely clamp the skin temperature of human subjects, while retaining capability for controlled rapid changes. The subject is enclosed from the neck down in a small chamber containing three water spray manifolds which terminate in 64 small shower heads; the manifolds provide independent temperature control of left leg, right leg, and arm/torso. A dual, solenoid-switched plumbing system for each manifold allows rapid, preset temperature changes. Preliminary tests showed that single thermocouples can accurately indicate average skin temperature for each of the three controlled body areas. Initial experiments with spikes, step functions, and periodic wave forms have proven the SSF as a potentially powerful tool for studying mechanisms of human thermoregulation.

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