New Research Reveals Skin Nerve Cells Sense Both Warmth and Cool
Sensing warm and cool: how the body detects temperature changes
Our team at the Queensland Brain Institute discovered that most skin thermoreceptors detect both warm and cool temperatures, overturning the long-held belief that separate nerve cells handle each sensation. By tracking these cells in mice, we found they increase activity in cooler conditions and decrease it when temperatures rise. This breakthrough could revolutionize treatments for thermal dysfunction in conditions like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injuries, while also shedding light on why older adults struggle with temperature regulation during heat waves.
Our study shows that rather than relying on 2 separate nerve cells to sense warmth and cool, the body's thermoreceptors can signal both sensations to the brain.
- traeregan
> “These findings could help explain what happens when the body’s thermoreceptors become impaired in ageing and disease.”
> ...this new understanding of the body’s thermoreceptors could inform treatments for people struggling with thermal dysfunction.
It would be amazing if this research also led to a treatment for the rare symptom of temperature reversal caused by ciguatera fish poisoning (ciguatoxin neurotoxins) overstimulating one's nerves. I am not personally afflicted but have friends who have been; one is still dealing with various symptoms many years later.
- ck2
I have CNS and nerve damage from covid and my hands are basically my regulators now
I get Raynauds syndrome even in the summer
Basically if my hands are warm, I am warm, if my hands are cold my entire body is cold
always wanted to try this Sony cooling device
* https://www.sony.com.hk/reonpocket/2026/en/
but wrist heater/cooler might also work
- mrguyorama
In this context, something fascinating is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_grill_illusion
You can artificially induce a burning pain sensation using alternating strips of mildly warm and mildly cold.
Here William Osman of all people builds one of these and uses it on his friends