Synchronisation of Cold Induced Vasodilation at Various Locations of One Hand (Synchronisatie van door Koude Geinduceerde Vasodilatatie op Verschillende Lokaties van een Hand).

Abstract : The mechanism responsible for cold induced vasodilation (CIVD) is still subject to debate. Several theories are based on Local mechanism as the release of a dilating substance, an axon reflex or Local paralysis of smooth muscles in the vessel wall. However, it is also shown that core temperature has to play a major role, because CIVD decreases in magnitude when the core gets colder. In this investigation the amount of correspondence between the CIVD-responses on several sites of the Left hand is quantified by the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) of the local skin temperatures. A PCC of zero means that all registrations are independent, indicating a purely local mechanism. A PCC approaching 1 indicates an increasing central component. Therefore, twelve subjects immersed their left hands in a calorimeter water bath of 5 deg C. ALL PCC's were calculated of the fingers and the ventral and dorsal side of the hand. A period of 30 minutes was analyzed, starting 10 minutes after immersion. The PCC was higher for neighbouring fingers (PCC = 0.67) than for fingers separated by other fingers (PCC 0.48). For neighbouring fingers those mainly innervated by the same somatic nerve (ring-little and index-middle finger) had a higher PCC (PCC = 0.80) than for the fingers with more separate innervation (PCC 0.55). Circulation, Cold induced Vasodilation, Innervation.