THERMAL SENSATIONS

Dr Ghulam Mustafa
 Learning Objectives
• Thermal Receptors
– Warm receptors
– Cold receptor
• Temp range
• Mechanism of Stimulation of Thermal Receptors
• Adaptation of thermal Receptors
• Spatial Summation of Thermal Sensations.
• Thermal sensations pathways
 Thermal Receptors
• The human being can perceive different
gradations of cold and heat
– From freezing cold
– To cold
– To cool
– To indifferent
– To warm to hot to burning hot.
• Three types of sensory receptors:
– Cold receptors
– Warmth receptors
– Pain receptors.
• The cold and warmth receptors
– Located immediately under the skin

– At discrete separated spot

• 3 to 10 times as many cold spots as

warmth spots
 Warm receptors

• The existence of distinctive warmth nerve

endings
– Free nerve endings
• Warmth signals are transmitted mainly over
Type C nerve fibers
• Transmission velocities of only 0.4 to 2
m/sec.
 Cold receptor
• Small type A delta Myelinated nerve
ending that branches a number of times
– Tips - protrude into the bottom surfaces of
basal epidermal cells.
• Signals - transmitted from these receptors
– Via type A delta nerve fibers
– At velocities of about 20 m/sec
– Some cold sensations -transmitted in type C
nerve fibers
 Temp range

1) A pain fiber stimulated by cold,

(2) A cold fiber,

(3) A warmth fiber, and

(4) A pain fiber stimulated by heat.

• Very Cold Region
– cold-pain fibers are stimulated
• +10° to 15°C
– cold receptors begin to be stimulated,
– peak stimulation at about 24°C
• Above about 30°C
– warmth receptors begin to be stimulated,
– fade out at about 49°C.
• At 45°C
– heat-pain fibers begin to be stimulated
– damage to the cold endings caused by the
excessive heat
Freezing cold and burning hot sensations

feel almost alike.

 Mechanism of Stimulation of
Thermal Receptors
• Cold and warmth receptors
• Stimulated by changes in their metabolic rates
• Alters the rate of intracellular chemical reactions
• More than twofold for each 10°C change.
• Not from direct physical effects of heat or cold
on the nerve endings
– Chemical stimulation of the endings
 Adaptation
of Thermal Receptors
• Cold receptor is suddenly subjected to an abrupt
fall in temperature
– Strongly stimulated at first
• Stimulation fades
– Rapidly during the first few seconds
– Progressively more slowly during the next
30 minutes
• Thermal senses respond markedly to changes
in temperature
 Spatial Summation of Thermal
Sensations.
• Number of cold or warm endings in any one
surface area of the body - Less
• Difficult to judge gradations of temperature
– When small skin areas are stimulated.
• When a large skin area - stimulated - at once
– The thermal signals from the entire area
summate.
 Thermal sensations pathways
• On entering the spinal cord
• Signals travel for a few segments upward or
downward in the tract of Lissauer
• Terminate mainly in Laminae I, II, and III of the
dorsal horn
• Small amount of processing
• Cross to the opposite anterolateral sensory tract
• Terminate in
(1) Reticular areas of the brain stem and
(2) Ventrobasal complex of the thalamus.
• Also relayed
– to the cerebral somatic sensory cortex from
the ventrobasal complex
• Neuron in cortical somatic sensory area I has
been found by microelectrode studies to be
directly responsive to
– either cold or
– warm stimuli
• on a specific area of the skin.
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