Transcutaneous Median Nerve Stimulation Regulates Peripheral Skin Temperature During Cold Pressor: A Sham-Controlled Study

Farhan N. Rahman, Afra Nawar, Jesus Antonio Sanchez-Perez, Asim H. Gazi, Jin-Oh Hahn, Omer T. Inan

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Keywords: transcutaneous median nerve stimulation, cold pressor, non-invasive therapy, wearable-compatible

TL;DR: Our study showed that transcutaneous median nerve stimulation may regulate peripheral skin temperature drops during cold exposure and may have a general thermoregulation effect.

Abstract: Cold exposure activates thermoregulatory processes through the autonomic nervous system that, while maintaining homeostasis, reduce peripheral blood flow and dexterity in the extremities. Transcutaneous median nerve stimulation (tMNS) represents a promising method for autonomic regulation through activation of parasympathetic vagal nerve afferents to the brain. However, the effect of this type of non-invasive therapy has not been investigated thoroughly in the context of thermoregulation. We analyzed peripheral skin temperature data in an ancillary study from a cohort of 19 participants who underwent two study visits of a protocol, each involving a dose-response activity, a cold pressor activity, and either tMNS or sham stimulation. Data from each protocol segment was averaged and then normalized as a percent difference from a baseline rest section. Paired t-tests and Pitman-Morgan tests were run on data from the cold pressor and dose-response activities respectively to determine statistical significance. We found that tMNS had a significant ($p=0.036$) effect of blunting peripheral skin temperature drops during cold pressor recovery as compared to sham stimulation. Additionally, tMNS had a general regulatory effect on skin temperature change during the dose-response activity, with significantly less variance than sham stimulation ($p<0.05$). These results indicate that possible regulation of peripheral skin temperature with tMNS can serve as a therapy for cold exposure. Future work should investigate this mechanism in a larger cohort with a protocol designed to assess reactivity in temperature and dexterity to both cold and heat exposure.

Track: 13. General sensing and systems

NominateReviewer: Farhan N. Rahman ([e-mail])

Submission Number: 151