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TRPM8

This shows a person's face surrounded by ice.

·March 25, 2026·9 min read

Tiny Fat Molecule Triggers the Sensation of Cold

Scientists have mapped the atomic movement of TRPM8, the protein that senses cold and menthol. This "molecular movie" reveals how lipids lock the protein open, providing a new target for treating cold-induced pain.

This illustration shows a brain wrapped in a scarf and covered in snowflakes.

Featured Neuroscience Pain

·February 21, 2026·6 min read

How Your Brain Knows It’s Cold

How do we feel the frost? Scientists have captured the first atomic-level images of the body’s "cold sensor" in action, revealing how menthol tricks our brain.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 1, 2019·3 min read

Sex and Aggression Controlled by Cold Sensor in Brain: Mouse Study

Embedding a molecule called TRPM8 into the surface of some cells helps reduce aggression and sexual appetite in mice, a new study reports.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·October 29, 2018·4 min read

Making Mice Lose Weight by Imitating Effects From Cold and Nicotine

By stimulating cold and nicotine receptors, researchers successfully improved metabolism in mice, helping them to lose weight. Further studies will investigate whether the same results can be achieved in humans.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 18, 2018·4 min read

How the Brain Responds to Cold Touch

A new study could help advance research into pain and hypersensitivity to cold stimuli. Researchers have mapped feelings of cold touch sensation in the insula of mice.

The image shows the thermosensitve afferents of TRPM8.

Electrophysiology Featured

·February 13, 2013·2 min read

Scientists Turn Off the Ability to Feel Cold

Researchers have isolated chills at a cellular level, identifying the sensory network of neurons in the skin that relays the sensation of cold. By better understanding the specific ways in which we feel sensations, scientists hope to one day develop better pain treatments without knocking out all ability to feel for suffering patients.