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Chemical Senses Advance Access published online on August 29, 2007
Chemical Senses, doi:10.1093/chemse/bjm056
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Modulation of Oral Heat and Cold Pain by Irritant Chemicals

Kelly C. Albin1,2, Mirela Iodi Carstens1 and E Carstens1

1 Section of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA 2 Present address: Givaudan Flavors Corporation, 1199 Edison Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45216, USA

Correspondence to be sent to: E. Carstens, Section of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. e-mail: eecarstens{at}ucdavis.edu


  Abstract

Common food irritants elicit oral heat or cool sensations via actions at thermosensitive transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. We used a half-tongue, 2-alternative forced-choice procedure coupled with bilateral pain intensity ratings to investigate irritant effects on heat and cold pain. The method was validated in a bilateral thermal difference detection task. Capsaicin, mustard oil, and cinnamaldehyde enhanced lingual heat pain elicited by a 49 °C stimulus. Mustard oil and cinnamaldehyde weakly enhanced lingual cold pain (9.5 °C), whereas capsaicin had no effect. Menthol significantly enhanced cold pain and weakly reduced heat pain. To address if capsaicin's effect was due to summation of perceptually similar thermal and chemical sensations, one-half of the tongue was desensitized by application of capsaicin. Upon reapplication, capsaicin elicited little or no irritant sensation yet still significantly enhanced heat pain on the capsaicin-treated side, ruling out summation. In a third experiment, capsaicin significantly enhanced pain ratings to graded heat stimuli (47 °C to 50 °C) resulting in an upward shift of the stimulus–response function. Menthol may induce cold hyperalgesia via enhanced thermal gating of TRPM8 in peripheral fibers. Capsaicin, mustard oil, and cinnanamdelyde may induce heat hyperalgesia via enhanced thermal gating of TRPV1 that is coexpressed with TRPA1 in peripheral nociceptors.

Key words: capsaicin, cold pain, heat pain, menthol, oral irritation, TRP channel

Accepted 3 August 2007


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