An examination of five theoretical foundations associated with localized thermosensory testing

Temel, Mevra, Johnson, Andrew A., Havenith, George, Arnold, Josh T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9905-2000, West, Anna M. and Lloyd, Alex B. (2021) An examination of five theoretical foundations associated with localized thermosensory testing. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 121 (7). 1943–1954. ISSN 1439-6319

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Abstract

Purpose: To assess five theoretical foundations underlying thermosensory testing using local thermal stimuli. Methods: Thermal sensation, discomfort and the confidence of thermal sensation scores were measured in 9 female and 8 male volunteers in response to 17 physical contact temperature stimuli, ranging between 18–42 °C. These were applied to their dorsal forearm and lateral torso, across two sessions. Results: Thermal sensation to physical temperature relationships followed a positive linear and sigmoidal fit at both forearm (r2 = 0.91/r2 = 0.91, respectively) and lateral torso (r2 = 0.90/ r2 = 0.91, respectively). Thermal discomfort to physical temperature relationships followed second and third-order fits at both forearm (r2 = 0.33/r2 = 0.34, respectively) and lateral torso (r2 = 0.38/r2 = 0.39, respectively) test sites. There were no sex-related or regional site differences in thermal sensation and discomfort across a wide range of physical contact temperatures. The median confidence of an individual’s thermal sensation rating was measured at 86%. Conclusion: The relation between thermal sensation and physical contact temperature was well described by both linear and sigmoidal models, i.e., the distance between the thermal sensation anchors is close to equal in terms of physical temperatures changes for the range studied. Participants rated similar thermal discomfort level in both cold and hot thermal stimuli for a given increase or decrease in physical contact temperature or thermal sensation. The confidence of thermal sensation rating did not depend on physical contact temperature.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Funding Information: This study is supported by the PhD Scholarship for Mevra TEMEL from the Ministry of National Education (the Republic of Turkey).
Uncontrolled Keywords: confidence,experimental design,thermal discomfort,thermal sensation,thermosensory,orthopedics and sports medicine,public health, environmental and occupational health,physiology (medical) ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2732
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 15 Dec 2022 03:52
Last Modified: 15 Dec 2022 03:52
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/90077
DOI: 10.1007/s00421-021-04670-z

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