Abstract
The effects of evoked thermal imagery on cutaneous thermal perception an change in skin temperature were examined. Thirty-two subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following four conditions: warm imagery, cold imagery, neutral imagery and no-imagery. The main results were as follows: first, the interference with thermal perception either by warm or cold imagery was observed. Cold imagery subjects estimated the stimuli to be warmer than neutral imagery subjects. However, under the high temperature condition they estimated the stimuli lower than the stimuli temperature. As to the perception expand, there was no difference between warm and cold imagery conditions. Second, warm imagery produced physically higher skin temperatures than cold imagery. These results indicated that the effect of imagery activity on the subjects' perception of thermal stimuli does not correspond to the actual physiological change in skin temperature. Finally, the dual nature of the effects of thermal imagery was discussed in terms of imagery modality.
