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Updated: Oct 1, 2026

Rapid Determination of the Thermal Nociceptive Threshold in Diabetic Rats
Published on: May 17, 2012
Thermal sensitivity in healthy subjects is decreased by a central mechanism after TNS
Margareta B E Eriksson1, Ingmar Rosén, Bengt Sjölund
1Department of Clinical Neurophysiology University Hospital. S-221 85 LundSweden Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital. S-221 85 LundSweden.
Abstract:
Using the thermal sense as a model for nociception, the effects of conventional and acupuncture-like transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TNS) were tested on thresholds for warm and cold sensation in 8 healthy subjects. Photic stimulation did not change the thermically neutral zone (the warm-cold difference limen) from that seen under baseline conditions. However, the thermal difference limen usually increased with both types of TNS. The effect was ipsi- as well as contralateral, implying that a central inhibitory mechanism is activated by conventional and acupuncture-like TNS.
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