Otto Selz Institute for Applied Psychology, University of Mannheim, Kaiserring 14-16, 68131 Mannheim, Germany.
Neurosci Lett. 2011 Nov 7;505(1):31-5. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2011.09.061. Epub 2011 Oct 1.
The 'thermal grill illusion' refers to paradoxical sensations of heat and pain, resulting from simultaneous application of interlaced warm and cold stimuli to the skin. It provides an interesting model of integrative mechanisms in the nervous system, supposed to be relevant in explaining the hypersensitivity found in chronic pain of unclear etiology. The aim of this study is to investigate the perceptual qualities elicited by a reconstruction of the original grill stimulator and to compare these qualities with those elicited by a single temperature thermode of identical dimensions. Healthy participants performed these comparisons by choosing adjectives describing the perceived sensory qualities. We hypothesized that the thermal grill would be perceived as different from a single temperature hot stimulus near pain threshold because of varying sensory qualities. Moreover, the qualities elicited by the grill were expected to be different from the qualities elicited by its single component temperatures. The thermal grill elicited a complex percept, which was distinguished almost perfect from a hot stimulus. The pattern of perceived qualities of the thermal grill differed from single temperature warm and hot stimuli. Pain-related sensations were less present in the grill percept than in a single hot stimulus near pain threshold. The spectrum of qualities of the grill stimulus changed marginally with stimulus duration by decrease of a cold component and concurrent increase of a heat component. In conclusion, the percept of the thermal grill is not simply pain--it can be understood as a metaesthetic percept at the transition from heat to pain.
“热格栅错觉”是指同时向皮肤施加交错的温暖和寒冷刺激时产生的矛盾的热和痛觉。它提供了一个有趣的神经整合机制模型，被认为与解释不明病因的慢性疼痛中的超敏反应有关。本研究旨在通过重建原始格栅刺激器来研究所引起的知觉质量，并将这些质量与具有相同尺寸的单个温度热电极所引起的质量进行比较。健康参与者通过选择形容词来描述感知到的感觉质量来进行这些比较。我们假设，由于感觉质量的变化，热格栅将被感知为不同于接近疼痛阈值的单个温度热刺激。此外，格栅引起的质量预计与单个组件温度引起的质量不同。热格栅产生了一种复杂的感觉，几乎可以完美地区别于热刺激。热格栅的感觉质量模式与单个温度温暖和热刺激不同。与单个接近疼痛阈值的热刺激相比，格栅感知中的疼痛相关感觉较少。格栅刺激的质量范围随刺激持续时间略有变化，冷成分减少，同时热成分增加。总之，热格栅的感知不仅仅是疼痛——它可以被理解为从热到痛的过渡中的一种审美感知。
