Evidence that removal of capsaicin accelerates desensitization on the tongue

It has previously been shown that repeated presentations of a moderate concentration of capsaicin could either sensitize or desensitize the tongue, depending upon the temporal pattern of stimulation. Only when stimulation was halted for 5 min or longer did sensitization begin to give way to desensitization. The apparent necessity of a hiatus in stimulation led to the hypothesis that desensitization involved an inability to re-excite quiescent fibers rather than a progressive suppression of stimulated fibers. This hypothesis was tested in the present study by measuring the perceptual response to a non-desensitizing irritant, zingerone, when it was presented at the rate of l/min following a series of capsaicin conditioning stimuli. After an initial, brief period of cross-hyper-sensitization, cross-desensitization developed at a rate equivalent to that observed when no stimulus was presented. Thus, the results disproved the hypothesis that desensitization cannot occur if capsaicin-sensitive fibers continue to be stimulated, and suggested that after an initial period of excitation, the removal of capsaicin accelerates the desensitization process. This seeming paradox is discussed in terms of the neural mechanisms that may underlie capsaicin desensitization.