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. 2025 Jun 10:16:1575764.
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1575764. eCollection 2025.

Alternate quantification approaches for cold-induced vasodilation in human glabrous skin

J A Stout  1 , D E Gerow  2   3 , P C Clegg  2   4 , K Metzler-Wilson  5   6   7   8 , T E Wilson  2   9   10
Affiliations

Alternate quantification approaches for cold-induced vasodilation in human glabrous skin

J A Stout et al. Front Physiol. .

Abstract

Introduction: Cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) is a counterintuitive focal increase in glabrous skin blood flow during cold exposure with unclear local and neural mechanisms.

Methods: We tested 12 (8 men, 4 women) healthy subjects' laser-Doppler flux (LDF; just proximal to the nailbed) and arterial blood pressure (ABP) on a beat-by-beat basis. The experimental hand was exposed to warm (10 min 35°C) and then cold (30 min 8°C) water immersion and the contralateral control hand experienced 22°C-23°C air throughout. We analyzed beat-by-beat oscillations in LDF and ABP via a fast-Fourier transform (FFT) and transfer function analysis (TFA) of LDF to ABP.

Results: LDF spectral power was greater in the control finger than immersed fingers in the normalized very low frequency (nVLF) range. There was an interaction in the normalized low frequency (nLF) range where cooling decreased power in immersion sites but increased power in the control site. VLF and LF TFA gains were lower during cooling for immersion but not control sites. Data confirm a significant effect of local vasoconstriction within sympathetic vasoconstriction as identified by changes in VLF and LF, respectively. Comparing CIVD bins (LDF criteria, n = 6) to general cutaneous vasoconstriction bins with no CIVD (n = 6) yielded increased nVLF (P = 0.05) and decreased nLF (P = 0.09) power with CIVD.

Discussion: Thus, the unique analysis of LDF and ABP using the FFT-TFA approach appears to be beneficial in providing insights into CIVD events with a periodic local release of vasoconstriction under varying sympathetic tone.

Keywords: fast-Fourier transform; functional sympatholysis; laser Doppler flowmetry; sympathoexcitation; transfer function analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Protocol Schematic. Left hand is the experimental hand and right hand is the control hand.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Skin surface temperature changes across the protocol. Air indicates air baseline, 35°C indicates warm water immersion of test fingers, 8°C indicates cold water immersion of test fingers, and recovery indicates the recovery period.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Skin surface temperature (A) and erythrocyte (RBC) concentration (B) changes across the protocol. The values indicate the means ± SE (n = 9 participants). Heating indicates warm water immersion timepoint and cooling indicates final cold water immersion timepoint. * indicates significant difference from baseline. ^ indicates significant difference from control. + indicates significant difference from warm water immersion timepoint.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Cutaneous vascular conductance (A) and laser-Doppler flux (B) changes across the protocol. The values indicate the means ± SE (n = 9 participants). Heating indicates warm water immersion timepoint and cooling indicates final cold water immersion timepoint. * indicates significant difference from baseline. + indicates significant difference from warm water immersion timepoint.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Mean transfer function gain (A), phase (B), and coherence function (C) for control (solid line) and test (dashed lines) fingers during the final cooling timepoint (n = 9 participants).
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