A Proposed Molecular Mechanism for Physical Analgesia in Chronic Pain

Table 1

Selective combination of mechanoreceptors and nerves.

Skin	Receptor	Frequency	Nerve	Modality
Glabrous skin	Meissner corpuscle	1–300 Hz	Aβ (RA1-LTMR)	Stroking
				Fluttering
	Merkel cell	0–100 Hz	Aβ (SA1-LTMR)	Pressure
				Texture
	Free nerve ending	0–8 Hz	—	—
	Pacinian corpuscle	5–1000 Hz	Aβ (RA2-LTMR)	Vibration
Hairy skin	Merkel cell		Aβ (SA1-LTMR)
	Hair flattening		Aδ (SA1-LTMR)

RA: rapid adaptation; SA: slow adaptation; LTMR: low-threshold mechanoreceptor.