Multiregion thermal sensitivity mapping of the hand

Summary Previous neurophysiological studies of discrete hand regions have suggested the dorsum to be more sensitive to temperature changes than the palmar surface, but no multiple-region investigation of the corresponding dorsal and palmar regions has been performed. This study aimed to investigate...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery reconstructive & aesthetic surgery, 2014-11, Vol.67 (11), p.1541-1547
Main Authors: Wakolbinger, Robert, Roche, Aidan D, Stockinger, Theresa, Gustorff, Burkhard, Aszmann, Oskar C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Cold sensation threshold
Cold-pain threshold
Female
Hand
Hand - innervation
Healthy Volunteers
Heat-pain threshold
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Pain Measurement
Plastic Surgery
Sensory Thresholds - physiology
Thermal sensitivity
Thermosensing - physiology
Warmth sensation threshold
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Summary Previous neurophysiological studies of discrete hand regions have suggested the dorsum to be more sensitive to temperature changes than the palmar surface, but no multiple-region investigation of the corresponding dorsal and palmar regions has been performed. This study aimed to investigate whether the dorsum of the hand is more sensitive to temperature changes than the palm across multiple regions. In 15 healthy human volunteers, cold and warmth detection thresholds were measured in 10 defined areas of the hand using a thermode of 2.56 cm2 . The testing algorithm employed was the Method of Limits with a baseline temperature of 32 °C and a rate of change of 1°/s. In five subjects, cold-pain and heat-pain thresholds were also measured. All dorsal regions were significantly more sensitive to cold than equivalent palmar areas. Differences in warmth thresholds were not uniform but, overall, dorsal sensitivity was significantly higher. This study finds that the dorsal aspect of the hand was more sensitive to temperature changes than the palm, with higher sensitivity to painful thermal stimuli.
ISSN:1748-6815
1878-0539
DOI:10.1016/j.bjps.2014.06.017