Temperature One of the 20 senses. By Chantel Holsather

Skin In the 1880s, that that the human skin is punctate gave clear indication of dissociation among functions once grouped together as the sense of touch. Mapping the skin with a fine bristle or a narrow-tipped cylinder showed that there are different spots of maximum sensitivity to pressure.

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Hot or Cold Heat increases body temperature and pulse rate due to exposure to intense warmth. Physiological stress induced by excessive heat or cold can impair functions in the body, which can cause injury or death.

A sufficiently high body temperature leads to sweating and can cause faster, deeper breathing and also dry skin. A combination of humidity and temperature can cause physical discomfort brought on by the weather. If that sounds familiar, it’s because many older people with arthritis can sense the shift in weather because of that discomfort.

Sympathetic Systems The somatomotor and sympathetic systems are used to balance internal temperature. Heat production and heat loss must be balanced to maintain Homeostasis within a being. When the climate is cold, the sympathetic system produces heat by its control of certain fat cells called brown adipose tissue.

Heat Production The posture of the body is also used to balance heat production and heat loss. When one is hot, the body stretches out—in physiological terms, extends—thus presenting a large surface to the ambient air able to lose heat. When one is cold, the body curls itself up—in physiological terms, flexes—thus presenting the smallest area to the ambient temperature.

Controlled by the nervous system, the sweat gland activity is under direction of the temperature-regulating center. The sweat glands’ heat is continuously lost by evaporation of water from the lungs and skin, but this loss can be greatly increased when more water is made available to the body. The nervous system constantly relays information about the body's temperature to the thermostat, which in turn activates different physical responses designed to cool or warm the body, depending on the circumstances

A healthy person's body temperature fluctuates between 97 ∞F (36.1 ∞C) and 100 ∞F (37.8 ∞C), with the average being 98.6 ∞F (37 ∞C). The body maintains stability within this range by balancing the heat produced by the metabolism with the heat lost to the environment. In animals temperature is very important. The brain temperature of an Arctic ground squirrel is approximately 6° C (43° F). During hibernation period, both the peripheral nervous system and the spinal cord have an increased sensitivity to certain stimuli. Outside the spinal cord, the nerves make up the central nervous system.

The areas of the brain that regulate temperature as well as cardiac (heart) and respiratory function remain active at ambient temperatures. Anything below the mammalian nervous system would normally cease to function. Brain temperature of hibernators remain a few degrees warmer than the environmental level which enables it to remain constant despite fluctuations in the temperature of the skin.