TY - JOUR
T1 - Thermal contrast enhancement predicts paradoxical heat sensation
AU - Mitchell, Alexandra G
AU - Fischer Ehmsen, Jesper
AU - Basińska, Małgorzata
AU - Courtin, Arthur S
AU - Böhme, Rebecca A
AU - Sardeto Deolindo, Camila
AU - Allen, Micah G
AU - Sandberg, Kristian
AU - Fardo, Francesca
N1 - © 2024. The Author(s).
PY - 2024/4/24
Y1 - 2024/4/24
N2 - Paradoxical Heat Sensation (PHS) is the remarkable feeling of warmth or heat pain while the skin is cooling. Despite its initial documentation over 100 years ago, a unified explanation for this perplexing experience remains elusive. Here we apply contrast enhancement principles, known for their instrumental role in understanding visual illusions, to the domain of thermosensation. Contrast enhancement describes the amplification of two contrasting visual features, such as the enhanced perception of an edge between a light and dark bar. In thermosensation, this encompasses an enhancement of the difference between sequential warming and cooling of the skin, and is defined as the normalised difference between successive temporal warm and cold temperatures. Remarkably, thermal contrast predicts the occurrence of PHS. Our findings reveal compelling evidence supporting the role of thermal contrast in the generation of PHS, shedding light on its underlying mechanism and offering a framework for broader encoding principles in thermosensation and pain.
AB - Paradoxical Heat Sensation (PHS) is the remarkable feeling of warmth or heat pain while the skin is cooling. Despite its initial documentation over 100 years ago, a unified explanation for this perplexing experience remains elusive. Here we apply contrast enhancement principles, known for their instrumental role in understanding visual illusions, to the domain of thermosensation. Contrast enhancement describes the amplification of two contrasting visual features, such as the enhanced perception of an edge between a light and dark bar. In thermosensation, this encompasses an enhancement of the difference between sequential warming and cooling of the skin, and is defined as the normalised difference between successive temporal warm and cold temperatures. Remarkably, thermal contrast predicts the occurrence of PHS. Our findings reveal compelling evidence supporting the role of thermal contrast in the generation of PHS, shedding light on its underlying mechanism and offering a framework for broader encoding principles in thermosensation and pain.
U2 - 10.1038/s44271-024-00083-8
DO - 10.1038/s44271-024-00083-8
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 39242745
SN - 2731-9121
VL - 2
SP - 1
EP - 8
JO - Communications Psychology
JF - Communications Psychology
IS - 1
M1 - 37
ER -