ABSTRACT
Humans recognize thermal stimuli with distinct sensations of being noxious cold, cold, warm, and noxious hot. Recordings from peripheral nerve —bers have demonstrated the existence of thermally active neurons known as thermal receptors. When skin temperature is raised above 30°C, thermal receptors specialized for detection of warmth start to —re action potentials,1 and when the temperature is further increased to above about 45°C, the so-called nociceptors become active causing perception of pain. The activity of warm receptors reaches maximum discharge at or below 45°C and then decreases abruptly as the skin is warmed further.1 Thus, warm receptors
14.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................299 14.2 Thermodynamic Principles of Temperature Gating .....................................302 14.3 Measurement of Temperature Dependence ..................................................304
