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. 1969 Sep;204(1):99–112. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1969.sp008901

Warm receptors in the nasal region of cats

H Hensel, D R Kenshalo
PMCID: PMC1351596  PMID: 5352076

Abstract

1. Specific warm receptors in the nasal region of cats were studied by recording afferent impulses from single units dissected from the infraorbital nerve. In addition, a few cold fibres from the same region were examined.

2. Numerous warm fibres with spot-like receptive fields were found on the back of the nose. They were not excited by mechanical stimulation.

3. Multi-fibre strands serving this area responded to moderate warming with an increase of the integrated discharge.

4. At constant temperatures from 30° C on, single warm fibres showed a steady discharge with a regular sequence of impulses, the frequency of which rose steeply with temperature and reached a maximum between 45 and 47° C. At higher temperatures the frequency fell to zero.

5. Rapid warming caused a dynamic overshoot, rapid cooling a transient inhibition of the warm fibre discharge. The highest dynamic frequencies of single fibres were 200 impulses/sec.

6. For a large population of single warm fibres the average maximum of static activity was 36 impulses/sec at 46° C, whereas the cold fibre population had a maximum of 9 impulses/sec at 27° C.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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