Epicritic Sensibility

a finely differentiated and precisely localized type of skin sensitivity that permits the perception of small mechanical and temperature changes. It contrasts with the more primitive protopathic sensibility (seePROTOPATHIC SENSIBILITY). The two types of sensibility normally work closely together. The strong subjective emotional reactions caused by protopathic sensibility are suppressed by the structures responsible for epicritic sensibility. The latter seems to be connected primarily with the activity of neurons of the medial lemnisci, which have fairly large receptor fields and which are particularly sensitive to stimulation. As a result of research on individual types of skin sensitivity (for example, sensitivity to touch, temperature, and pain), the general terms “epicritic sensibility” and “protopathic sensibility” are rarely used in scientific literature.