THERMOSENSELAB, Environmental Ergonomics Research Centre, Loughborough University , Loughborough , United Kingdom.
Center for the Built Environment, University of California at Berkeley , Berkeley, California.
J Appl Physiol (1985). 2018 Sep 1;125(3):723-736. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00158.2018. Epub 2018 Jun 7.
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 m; F: 1.64 ± 0.1 m; 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. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We provide the most detailed thermosensitivity maps across glabrous and hairy skin of hands and feet in men and women available to date. Our maps show that thermosensitivity varies by fivefold across hands and feet, distal regions (e.g., fingers, toes) are less sensitive than proximal (e.g., palm, sole), hands are twice as sensitive as feet, and men and women present small thermosensitivity differences. These findings will help guide developments in sensory neuroprostheses, wearable comfort systems, and sport/protective clothing.
手和脚传递皮肤热感觉的能力是我们体验周围世界的重要因素。令人惊讶的是，尽管已经存在触觉和疼痛的敏感图，但手和脚的温热和冷敏的详细局部分布图谱尚未绘制出来。使用最近开发的定量感觉测试，我们在手和脚的无毛和有毛皮肤上绘制了 103 个皮肤部位的温热和冷敏感觉，这些部位包括男性（M；30.2±5.8 岁）和女性（F；27.7±5.1 岁）成年人，这些成年人的身体表面积相匹配（M：1.77±0.2 m；F：1.64±0.1 m；P = 0.155）。研究结果表明，手和脚的无毛和有毛皮肤上的温热和冷敏感觉差异可达五倍，手（温热/冷敏感觉：1.25/2.14 投票/°C）的敏感性是脚（温热/冷敏感觉：0.51/0.99 投票/°C）的两倍。与我们已知的触觉和疼痛敏感性相反，我们在手和脚的有毛和无毛皮肤上观察到一种特征性的远端到近端的温热敏感性增加（即从手指和脚趾到手和脚的身体），并且发现有毛皮肤比无毛皮肤更敏感。最后，我们发现，经身体表面积匹配的男性和女性在手和脚的温热敏感性方面差异很小，并且这些差异仅局限于无毛皮肤。我们的高密度温热感觉微映射提供了迄今为止最详细的年轻成年人手和脚温热敏感性图谱。这些图谱为人类温热感觉整合的外周和中枢机制提供了一个窗口，将有助于指导智能皮肤和感觉神经假体、可穿戴的节能个人舒适系统以及运动和防护服装的未来发展。新的和值得注意的是，我们提供了迄今为止最详细的男性和女性手和脚的有毛和无毛皮肤温热敏感性图谱。我们的图谱显示，手和脚的温热敏感性差异可达五倍，远端区域（如手指、脚趾）的敏感性低于近端区域（如手掌、脚底），手的敏感性是脚的两倍，男性和女性的温热敏感性差异很小。这些发现将有助于指导感觉神经假体、可穿戴舒适系统和运动/防护服装的发展。
