Microscopic examination of the skin reveals a variety of nerve terminals including free nerve endings (which are most common), Ruffini endings, and encapsulated endings, such Pacinian corpuscles, Meissner’s corpuscles, and Krause end bulbs.

In laboratory animals some nerve endings seem to respond only to one type of stimulus (e.g., to pressure stimuli of very light weight or to slight temperature changes); others exhibit a broad range of sensitivity. Some receptors show combined sensitivity to both temperature and pressure. In some cases only special types of mechanical stimulation (such as rubbing) may be effective. Furthermore, there is extensive overlap in the areas of skin (receptor fields) for individual nerve fibres, suggesting a neural integration of overlapping afferent inputs of skin nerves.

On the other hand, some tactile receptors (e.g., Pacinian corpuscles) respond only to mechanical deformation. A Pacinian corpuscle is an onion-shaped structure of nonneural (connective) tissue built up around the nerve ending that reduces the mechanical sensitivity of the nerve terminal itself. If the onionlike capsule is entirely removed, mechanical sensitivity not only remains but is somewhat greater than when the capsule is present.

In addition to the differences in the sensory end structures of the skin, the afferent nerve fibres (axons) from them also show diversity. The nerve fibres range in size from large myelinated (sheathed) axons of 10 to 15 micrometres (millionths of a metre) in diameter to extremely small unmyelinated fibres measuring only tenths of micrometres across. Fatter axons tend to conduct nerve impulses more rapidly than do small fibres; when axons of different diameters form a single bundle (a nerve), they constitute a so-called mixed nerve. Thus, electrical records from a mixed nerve show what are labeled A (fast), B (medium), and C (slow) components that reflect the typical speeds at which axons of different diameters conduct. Although such specialized capsules, such as Pacinian corpuscles, tend to be associated with larger diameter axons, and temperature-sensitive endings tend to be associated with medium-size fibres, a unique relation of each of the skin modalities with one of the A, B, or C fibre groups cannot be supported. All of the cutaneous senses seem to be associated with some fibres of all diameters; furthermore, the C fibres (once thought to be restricted to the pain function) display quite specific sensitivities to nonpainful stimuli applied to the skin.

A major neural pathway for tactile impulses runs along the back (in the dorsal columns) of the spinal cord. Afferent fibres enter the cord from the cutaneous nerves and ascend without synaptic break in one (the ipsilateral) dorsal column. This is a very rapidly conducting pathway shared by fibres that mediate sensations of deep pressure and kinesthesis. Other tactual, temperature, and pain information crosses the spinal cord close to the level of entry of the sensory fibres and ascends to the brain in contralateral pathways of the cord (the lateral and ventral spinothalamic tracts).

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Each of the nerves distributed along the spinal cord contains a sensory bundle that serves a well-defined strip of skin (a dermatome) about 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide or more on the body surface. Successive spinal nerves overlap, so that each place on the skin represents two and sometimes three dermatomes; this yields a segmented pattern of strips over the body from head to toe. All dermatomes feed into a single relay centre (the sensory thalamus) deep within the brain, where there is a precise three-dimensional layout of tactile sensitivity at the body surface. The neurons in this part of the thalamus (the ventral posterolateral nucleus) are specific to particular skin senses (such as pressure) and form small and precise receptor fields. Pathways from the specific ventral posterolateral thalamus end (or project) in a narrow band of the cerebral cortex (the posterior rolandic cortical sensory area) where there is a point-for-point representation of the body surface on the cortical surface. There is a second more diffuse thalamic system (in the posterior thalamic nuclei) where the receptor fields are large, perhaps bilateral, on the left and right sides, perhaps including one whole side of the body. The receptor fields here and the types of stimuli to which they respond are not clearly delineated. The cortical projection of the posterior thalamic system is less well charted than that of the ventral posterolateral thalamus. Thus, there appears to be a dissociation between tactual structures that are highly specific and those that are more generalized.

The dissociation of cutaneous senses is demonstrated in the course of some diseases; for example, in syringomyelia, degeneration of the central canal of the spinal cord leads to loss of pain and temperature sensitivity. Nevertheless, the patient still can experience pressure. In some instances there may be a complete absence of pain sensitivity with disastrous consequences such as bruises, cuts, or even the loss of body parts. Still other instances of dissociation of pain versus pressure occur in surgical procedures (such as tractotomy) in which spinal tracts or parts of the nerves leading into the brainstem are selectively cut. Such operations are designed specifically to relieve pain without unduly diminishing pressure sensitivity.

Tactile psychophysics

The mixture of sensitivities within a given patch of skin provides a basis for the concept of adequate stimulation. Sometimes, for example, a cold spot responds to a very warm stimulus, and one experiences what is called paradoxical cold. The sensation of heat from a hot stimulus presumably arises from the adequate stimulation of warmth receptors combined with the inadequate or inappropriate (although effective) stimulation of cold and pain receptors.

The ability to detect pressure (i.e., pressure threshold) generally appears when a tension of about 0.85 gram per square mm (equivalent to about 1.2 pounds per square inch) of skin surface is applied on the back of the hand. Thus a force of 85 mg applied to a stimulus hair (or bristle) of 0.1 square mm is just about enough to elicit the experience of pressure. The energy of impact at pressure threshold is much greater than that required for hearing or seeing, the skin requiring approximately 100,000,000 times more energy than the ear and 10,000,000,000 times more energy than the eye. Differential pressure discrimination (the ability to detect just noticeable differences in intensity) requires changes of roughly 14 percent at maximum sensitivity.

Adaptation to pressure is well known; one’s awareness of a steadily applied bristle fades and ultimately disappears. As a result people are rarely aware of the steady pressure of their clothing unless movement brings about a change in stimulation. Most dramatic and perhaps best known among tactile experiences is adaptation to thermal stimulation. Continued presentation of a warm or cold stimulus leads to reduction or disappearance of the initial sensation and an increase in threshold values. Total obliteration of thermal sensation through adaptation occurs in the range from about 16 to 42 °C (61 to 108 °F). If one hand is placed in a bowl of hot (40 °C [104 °F]) water and adapted to that, and at the same time the other hand is adapted to cold (20 °C [68 °F]) water, then when both hands are simultaneously placed in lukewarm (30 °C [86 °F]) water, the previously cooled hand feels warm and the other hand feels cold. Both types of temperature receptors show adaptation. Cold receptors are characterized by an electrical discharge on sudden cooling, normally showing no response to sudden warming; similar electrical responses are produced by warmth receptors. Both receptors show steady discharges selectively depending on temperature; maximum discharge typically occurs between 38 and 43 °C (100 and 109 °F) for individual warmth receptors and between 15 and 34 °C (59 and 93 °F) for cold receptors.

Pain is the least understood among all of the human senses. The pattern of stimulation is more crucial in pain than in any other sense. A single brief electric shock to the skin or to an exposed nerve may not elicit the experience of pain; yet it tends to become painful upon repetitive stimulation. Cutaneous pain is often sensed more sharply than is pain associated with deep tissues of the body (e.g., viscera). Certain areas of the body are relatively analgesic (free of pain); for example, one can bite shallowly into the mucous lining of the cheek without discomfort. The organs of the abdominal cavity are usually insensitive to cutting or burning, but traction or stretching of hollow viscera is painful (as when the stomach is distended by gas). Pain also displays sensory adaptation, although the process appears to be more complex than it is for other sensory modalities. Thus, the intensities of headaches, toothaches, and pains from injury often show cyclic fluctuations, possibly from such factors as changes in blood circulation or in degree of inflammation. The visceral pains, those of dental origin, or of diseased tissues can be reduced by analgesic medications, which tend to be less effective on cutaneous pain. Pain has a strong emotional context. In certain cases, after frontal lobotomies (a type of brain surgery) have been performed, a person may report that he still feels the pain of a pin prick or other irritation but that he does not find it as disturbing or emotionally disruptive as he did before the lobotomy. Many phenomena indicate the powerful role of the brain and spinal cord in sensing potentially painful sensory input. According to one theory, a gate control system in the spinal cord modulates sensory input from the skin to determine whether the input is perceived as painful. This theoretical formulation also may account for moment-to-moment fluctuations in the intensity of perceived pain despite the absence of any stimulus change. Such brain-mediated factors as emotional tension or past psychological experiences are thought to influence pain perception by acting upon this spinal gate control system.

Itching seems to bear the same relation to pain as tickle does to pressure. The experience usually lasts long enough to demand attention and (like tickle) normally leads to a response such as rubbing or scratching the affected area. A number of skin disorders are accompanied by itching, presumably from a fairly low level of irritation in the affected area (which also may be produced in undiseased skin). While a single shock by a low-intensity electrical spark normally produces no sensation, a repetitive pattern of such shocks may induce an itch similar to that produced by an insect bite. Itching also may occur as an aftereffect of the sharp pricking sensation produced by single strong shocks, presumably because the nerves continue to produce a patterned afterdischarge following the cessation of the stimulus.

Nonpainful tactile pattern stimulation is exemplified by vibration. Different frequencies of vibration are readily discriminated, and a tactile communication system employing vibrations on the skin has been devised, particularly for people who cannot see or hear.