In a first, researchers have revealed the complete sensory pathway that enables the skin to communicate temperatures to the brain. It turns out that cool temperatures have an individual, dedicated pathway — suggesting the body has different circuits for deciphering warmth and coolness.
This study, published July 28 in the journal Nature Communications, is the first to map out the pathway for sensing colder temperatures, starting from the skin and ending in the brain. The research team traced this "wiring diagram" in mice to better understand how cool stimuli on the skin get translated into information the brain can digest and react to. The same temperature circuits are likely found in humans, too, the researchers say.
