Journal of neurophysiology
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Comparative Study
Comparison of heat and mechanical receptive fields of cutaneous C-fiber nociceptors in monkey.
1. Receptive-field properties were investigated in cutaneous C-fiber nociceptive afferents (CMH) responsive to mechanical and heat stimuli. Teased-fiber techniques were used to record from 28 CMHs that innervated the hairy skin of upper or lower limb in anesthetized monkeys. 2. ⋯ Because lateral transmission of the heat stimulus is small, this indicates that heat transduction occurs outside the regions of maximal mechanical sensitivity. 6. Both the threshold to heat and the response magnitude at suprathreshold intensities depended on the percentage of the RF area overlapped by the heat stimulus. This indicates that multiple transducer sites probably contribute to the total evoked response.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)