Response properties of primary somatosensory cortical neurons responsive to cold stimulation of the facial skin and oral mucous membrane.

The distribution and response characteristics of the primary somatosensory cortical (SI) neurons activated by cold stimulation of the facial skin and oral mucous membrane were studied in cats. The discharge activities of 53 cold-sensitive SI neurons that responded to a decrease in temperature of the facial skin and/or oral mucous membrane were recorded. Each of these neurons was classified according to its responsiveness to mechanical stimulation as follows: LTM (low-threshold mechanoreceptive, 14/53), WDR (wide dynamic range, 39/53) and NS (nociceptive-specific, none identified). Encoding and non-encoding SI cold-sensitive neurons were identified, according to their responsiveness to decremental thermal stimulation. Only 14 cold-sensitive SI neurons demonstrated increased firing frequencies when subjected to incremental stimulus intensity increases and were classified as the encoding-type, whereas 39 non-encoding-type neurons did not.