Effect of oxygen inhalation on cold thresholds1

Journal/Book: Reprinted from JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY Vol. 18 No. 6 November 1963. 1963;

Abstract: D. M. MacCANON2 AND J. RESNIK3 Division of Cardiovascular Research The Chicago Medical School Chicago Illinois Received for publication 18 March 1963. 1 This investigation was supported by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command Dept. of the Army under Research Grant No. DA-MD-49-193-62-G43. 2 Public Health Service Research Career Program Awardee (No. HE-K3-13 433-C1) from the National Heart Institute. 3 This work was done as a Premedical Research Fellow of The Chicago Medical School. MACCANON D. M. AND J. RESNIK. Effect of oxygen inhalation an cold thresholds. J. Appl. Physiol. I8(6): 1057-1060. 1963.- The effect of oxygen inhalation on cutaneous thresholds for cold sensation was determined by exposing a 50-cm²= area an the chest to a radiant cold source of variable intensity for 2-sec intervals in II healthy 23- to 26-yr-old nude subjects at two ambient temperatures. Oxygen breathing produced a similar significant increase in cold thresholds in both cool (22.4-26.5 C) and warm (36.6-39.3 C) environments. Observations at warm ambient temperatures substantiate the oxygen effect independent of suspected reflex vasoconstriction in the cool environment. OXYGEN INHALATION has been shown to decrease shivering and oxygen consumption and promote feelings of warmth and less discomfort in human subjects exposed to cold (14). A delay in the onset of initial shivering was also noted although the time course of the various body temperatures was no different than when breathing air. These observations suggested that a diminution in sensitivity to cutaneous cooling might be involved. This possibility seemed best clarified by determining the effect of oxygen inhalation an thresholds to cutaneous cooling. Also as environmental temperature has been shown to alter cold thresholds (5 10 11) two different ambient temperatures were used in an effort to further characterize the nature of the oxygen effect. schö

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