A topographical and physiological exploration of C-tactile afferents and their response to menthol and histamine

Abstract

Unmyelinated tactile (CT) afferents are abundant in arm hairy skin and thought to signal features of social affective touch. We show that CTs are also present but are relatively sparse in the lower leg compared to C nociceptors. CTs display similar physiological properties across the arm and leg nerves. Furthermore, CT afferents do not respond to the cooling agent menthol or the pruritogen histamine, and their mechanical response properties are not altered by these chemicals.