Painful cold-heat segmental pulse stimulation provokes the thermal pain illusion

The thermal grill illusion is a paradoxical pain sensation induced by simultaneous exposure to spatially separated, non-painful, cold, and warm stimuli. This study aimed to determine whether paradoxical sensations are also evoked by simultaneous exposure to painful cold-heat stimuli and whether the mechanism involves modulation by segmental and extra-segmental spatial integration.

Sensory perceptions were triggered by simultaneous application of painful cold-heat pulse stimuli using a developed bedside tool equipped with quantitative thermal stimulator devices. Four conditions were investigated: (1) one device placed on the forearm (condition 1, control); (2) two devices placed on the forearm (condition 2, ipsilateral segmental integration); (3) two devices placed on the forearm and ipsilateral thigh (condition 3, extra-segmental integration); and (4) two devices placed bilaterally on the forearms (condition 4, contralateral segmental integration). The evoked perceptions of paradoxical heat sensation and the loss of cold or heat sensation were evaluated.

The aforementioned phenomena were experienced by 11(35.4%), 3(9.7%), 3(9.7%), and 0(0.0%) subjects for conditions 1-4, respectively. Fisher's exact test revealed significant differences (p=.001) among the four conditions. However, Bonferroni post hoc analysis revealed significant differences only between conditions 1 and 4 (p=.005).

Simultaneous painful cold-heat pulse stimulation can induce paradoxical sensations similar to those shown for non-painful thermal (cold and heat) stimuli. They were predominantly evoked by ipsilateral integration. Paradoxical sensations have diagnostic value, and quantifying them using a simple bedside tool may be useful in the clinical setting.