Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol 54, Issue 3 491-501, Copyright © 1985 by APS

ARTICLES

Sensory receptors with unmyelinated (C) fibers innervating the skin of the rabbit's ear

V. K. Shea and E. R. Perl

The cutaneous receptive properties of unmyelinated (C) fibers of the rabbit's great auricular nerve were determined by single-unit recordings. The majority of C-fiber units could be excited by cutaneous stimulation, and such sensory units fell into three major categories on the basis of responses to mechanical and thermal stimulation of their cutaneous receptive fields: low-threshold mechanoreceptors, nociceptors, or specific thermoreceptors. The majority of afferent elements were nociceptive, and all nociceptors responded to strong mechanical stimulation. Three types of nociceptors could be distinguished by their responses to thermal stimuli. Polymodal nociceptors responded to heat with thresholds of 40-55 degrees C and typically displayed enhanced responses or sensitization after noxious heating of their receptive fields. High-threshold mechanoreceptors failed to respond promptly to heat before noxious cutaneous stimulation which, however, elicited subsequent back-ground activity or sensitivity to heat. A third type of nociceptor responded to cold but not to heat. Low-threshold mechanoreceptors were identified by their brisk responses to very gentle, slowly moving mechanical stimulation of their receptive fields, and were readily distinguished from any element classified as nociceptive by their lower mechanical thresholds. Rapid innocuous warming or cooling excited some of the low-threshold mechanoreceptors. Specific thermoreceptors, both warming and cooling types, were rare, insensitive to mechanical stimulation, and responded to very slight changes in temperature. In contrast to the sensitization to heat, which was characteristic of most nociceptors, specific warming receptors displayed depressed thermal responses after noxious heating of their receptive fields. These results provide further evidence of the similarity of C-fiber receptors innervating hairy skin of different species. Some differences from past reports and additional features are described.

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