2019_WetnessSexEx_JPhysiol.pdf (1.85 MB)
Thermosensory mapping of skin wetness sensitivity across the body of young males and females at rest and following maximal incremental running
journal contribution
posted on 2019-05-23, 13:01 authored by Alessandro Valenza, Antonino Bianco, Davide FilingeriHumans lack skin hygroreceptors and we rely on integrating cold and tactile inputs from Atype skin nerve fibres to sense wetness. Yet, it is unknown whether sex and exercise
independently modulate skin wetness sensitivity across the body. We mapped local
sensitivity to cold, neutral and warm wetness of the forehead, neck, underarm, lower back,
and dorsal foot in 10 males (27.8±2.7y; 1.92±0.1m
2 BSA) and 10 females (25.4±3.9y; 1.68 ±
0.1m
2 BSA), at rest and post maximal incremental running. Participants underwent our
quantitative sensory test where they reported the magnitude of thermal and wetness
perceptions (Visual Analogue Scales) resulting from the application of a cold (5°C below
skin temperature) wet (0.8ml water), neutral wet, and warm wet (5°C above skin temperature)
thermal probe (1.32cm2
) to 5 skin sites.
We found that: 1) females were ~14 to ~17% more sensitive to cold-wetness than males, yet
both sexes were as sensitive to neutral- and warm-wetness; 2) regional differences were
present for cold-wetness only, and these followed a cranio-caudal increase that was more
pronounced in males (i.e. the foot was ~31% more sensitive than the forehead); 3) maximal
exercise reduced cold-wetness sensitivity over specific regions in males (i.e. ~40% decrease
in foot sensitivity), and it also induced a generalised reduction in warm-wetness sensitivity in
both sexes (i.e. ~4 to ~6%). For the first time, we show that females are more sensitive to
cold wetness than males, and that maximal exercise induce hygro-hypoesthesia. These novel
findings expand our knowledge on sex differences in thermoregulatory physiology.
History
Published in
The Journal of PhysiologyVolume
597Issue
13Pages
3315-3332Citation
VALENZA, A., BIANCO, A. and FILINGERI, D., 2019. Thermosensory mapping of skin wetness sensitivity across the body of young males and females at rest and following maximal incremental running. The Journal of Physiology, 597 (13), pp.3315-3332.Publisher
Wiley © The Authors, The Journal of Physiology, The Physiological SocietyVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publisher statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: VALENZA, A., BIANCO, A. and FILINGERI, D., 2019. Thermosensory mapping of skin wetness sensitivity across the body of young males and females at rest and following maximal incremental running. The Journal of Physiology, 597 (13), pp.3315-3332, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1113/jp277928. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.Acceptance date
2019-05-14Publication date
2019-06-02Copyright date
2019ISSN
0022-3751eISSN
1469-7793Publisher version
Language
- en