From the Research
Definition of Hygrosensation
The term for the sensation of wetness on the skin without evidence of moisture is known as hygrosensation or pseudo-wetness.
Key Findings
- Studies have shown that humans do not have specific skin receptors for sensing wetness, and instead, the perception of skin wetness is generated through the integration of thermal and tactile inputs 1, 2, 3.
- The perception of skin wetness is thought to be produced from a combination of specific skin thermal and tactile inputs, registered through thermoreceptors and mechanoreceptors, respectively 3.
- Research has found that warm temperature stimuli can suppress the perception of skin wetness, and that the central integration of coldness and mechanosensation is the primary neural process underpinning human wetness sensitivity 1, 2.
Mechanisms of Hygrosensation
- The main signals that contribute to the percept of wetness include information about skin cooling, signaled primarily by thinly myelinated thermoreceptors, and rapid changes in touch, through fast-conducting, myelinated mechanoreceptors 3.
- Potential central sites for integration of these signals, and thus the perception of skin wetness, include the primary and secondary somatosensory cortices and the insula cortex 3.
- Tactile cues can significantly modulate the perception of sweat-induced skin wetness, independently of the level of physical skin wetness 4.
Neurophysiological Bases
- A neurophysiological model of human wetness sensitivity has been developed, which provides evidence for the existence of a specific human hygrosensation strategy, underpinned by perceptual learning via sensory experience 2, 5.
- The model suggests that the perception of skin wetness is generated through the multisensory integration of cold-sensitive and mechanosensitive skin afferents 2.