Characteristics of the local cutaneous sensory thermoneutral zone.Skin temperature detection thresholds have been used to measure human cold and warm sensitivity across the temperature continuum.  In this study we employ two approaches to characterize the properties of sensory thermoneutrality, testing for each whether neutrality shifts along the temperature continuum depending on adaptation to a preceding thermal state.  For the same conditions, experiment 2 determined a thermally neutral zone centered around a thermally neutral point in which thermoreceptors' activity is balanced.  These findings provide the first quantitative analysis of the local sensory thermoneutral zone in humans, indicating that it does not occur only within a specific range of steady-state skin temperatures (i.e., it shifts across the temperature continuum) and that it differs from the inter-detection threshold range both quantitatively and qualitatively.  These findings provide insight into thermoreception neurophysiology.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Contrary to a widespread concept in human thermoreception, we show that local sensory thermoneutrality is achievable outside the 32-34°C skin temperature range.  Also, we have developed from vision research a new quantitative test addressing the balance in activity of cutaneous cold and warm thermoreceptors. 
THERM