The synthetic sensation of wetness is thought to be produced from a combination of specific skin thermal and tactile inputs, registered through thermoreceptors and mechanoreceptors, respectively.  The present review explores how thermal and tactile afference from the periphery can generate the percept of wetness centrally.  We propose that the main signals include information about skin cooling, signaled primarily by thinly myelinated thermoreceptors, and rapid changes in touch, through fast-conducting, myelinated mechanoreceptors.  Furthermore, we discuss the role that sensing wetness could play in precision grip and the dexterous manipulation of objects. 
THERM